JOLLY OUR RED HORSE WOMAN

a person never forgotten from my past...

JOLLY OUR RED HORSE WOMAN

her indian name was
red horse woman
because her mother
gave birth to her
in the brood mare barn
in the stall with cinnamon
a fine sorrel mare
who was also giving birth to
tinto, a strong chestnut son
who became one of the major stallions
in our stock horse breeding program

but her older brother randy, our wrangler,
and i called her jolly,
she was always filled with laughter
and warm hugs for everyone
her smile radiated happiness
and wisdom far beyond her years
we all spent long hours
working the horses
riding fence and gathering stock
we were partners
she and i
in so many ways
we shared everything,
our first crushes
our first heart breaks
all of our joys and all of our sorrows
even her brother, randy,
who was our teacher in all things horse,
we were sisters by choice rather than birth
and
i thought we would always
be close
share everything
nothing could break our friendship
nothing could tear us apart
until
a drunk driver running a red light
stole her from us,
ripped her from our life tapestry
with one thoughtless slam into his dark world

randy and i
wanted to seek him out
and stretch him out naked
over a red ant hill
with honey trails over his flesh
to make him pay
in some ancient indian way,
make him feel the pain of our loss
but
standing in the cool pearlised peach of evening
on the bank of the consumnes
as we tossed her ashes into the four winds
we heard her laughter
shimmering alive across the universe, free
whispering “i will always be with thee, always”
and
we hugged
and gathered the threads of memory,
of life
and began to weave the patterns of living again
and as the years have passed
i have seen her often
mounted on one of the great red horses
she loved so much
racing the tempest of life into the universe of forever
her laughter echoing through the coulees and canyons of my soul
always with me...

Reviews

[Sami Khalil]

"we hugged
and gathered the threads of memory,
of life
and began to weave the patterns of living again
and as the years have passed"

Very enjoyable in all its sad and happy aspects woven from the tapestry of the fields where horses are birthed and the universe carries their memory all the time. Excellent...:)....

[jeannemarie coulter]

she was a very important being in my life, thank you for the generous kind words

[Sami Khalil]

I see. You are welcome...:)...................

[ROXANE DORSEY]

red letters for a red poem thanks for sharing this nice write.

[Josie E. Cook M. A.]

Quite beautiful in soul and memory of a loving, spirited sister,
may you always have those blessed shared memories to remind you of her
sweet kinship shared with both of you!

[FaeryQueen]

this was a cute poem!!!! so relateable!!!!!!

[jeannemarie coulter]

thank you for the read

[Coyote Poetry]

Beautiful artwork and amazing story. I like the people who love the horses. They treat them like friends and children. The horses know who to trust. Thank you dear friend for sharing the excellent story.
Coyote

[dan]

jeannemarie, What an touching and detailed tribute to a forever friend taken way too soon from your life. I am a very emotional person and I can tell you that it moved me to tears. One reason is because of its sheer beauty, the other reason because it reminded me of MY friend, who died right before his 30th birthday...for whom I also wrote a tribute poem posted here. If you wish to search through my archives to read it I would be honored. It's called, "Marty (Then and Gone)." The best way I know to honor you for this gem of a write is to save it in my library favorites, where I can go back repeatedly to read this tremendous piece of writing brilliance. Your friend would be very proud of you, and thankful, as am I. take care...dan

[JayceeC]

It's hard to break the bonds of chosen sisterhood. Even with time and distance, and yes, death they linger with us. I think all whom we love stay with us really. A sad story and lovely tribute to a sister of the heart. Thank you for sharing a piece of Jolly with us.

[jeannemarie coulter]

thank you and jolly thanks you too

[Cherry Pepperweb]

This was so good jc.
You just have such a wonderful way of weaving your tales through poetry.

[Emily]

I really like this one!
Keep it up!!

[Jamestown]

Well penned!
I enjoyed this sad but also beautiful piece,
ups and downs you take the reader with you
on this journey:) Thanks for sharing and b-blessed!

[....................]

you weave such tapestry with your words, Jeannemarie... the vivid colours you paint are always vibrant and rich; you have a great command of language; you make the reader run the gamut of emotion (in this case, love, sadness, anger and joy); and you tell the best stories in poetic form... I read this three times and at the end of each read i found myself overwhelmed by goosebumps... you are one of my favorite story tellers, that's for sure... well-done my friend!