The Rural Voice, 2000-08, Page 44Author Adelaide
Schartner prepares her
old wooden horse for
some hard work.
My Faithful Old Horse
By Adelaide Schartner
There once was a wondrous
horse of yore.
A wooden horse
in a city called Troy.
During homestead days
in a past long gone —
I, too, had a wooden
horse of my own.
But the horse from Troy —
packed troops in his bowels!
Mine carried pants
and shirts and towels!
But_NOT in his innards.
Alas, alack!
He carried all
on his spindly back.
Oh how I yearned
for a dryer so slick
that sang like a thrush
and knew every trick!
Handled big Toads —
or a delicate shawl,
NEVER provoking_
a bad-tempered scowl!
The years slipped by —
time WILL march on.
Then a spiffy new dryer
graced my home!
My old wooden horse
was put out to pasture —
the new dryer shone!
But -- NOW who was master?
My gleaming machine
was far smarter than I;
it knew when to spin —
it knew how to dry!
I studied real hard —
and finally caught on.
The contraption works great —
be it midnight or dawn.
But grand as it is
(I'm daft, or course!)
There still are days
when I miss that old horse!
But -- rest easy, rest well,
faithful old boy.
You served just as well
as that Horse of Troy!
40 THE RURAL VOICE