THE COW
She was just one old cow in a very large herd,
not much different from the others,
at least not that you could tell.
She was no faster, no fatter, no smarter, no larger;
just one old cow, but she wore the bell.
She decided where the herd would go,
to which pasture or meadow, or back to the barn.
Where she was headed, you couldn't always tell
until you saw her dart off in one direction,
and the others followed, because she wore the bell.
We're like that herd of cows, I think.
We follow our leaders because they tell us to.
Do we follow blindly? I'm not sure, but it makes me want to yell,
because I am sure the time has come
for different someones to wear the bell.
THE OLD MARE
The old mare watched the coroner's wagon
as it pulled into the yard
with the same dread that she usually felt
for the occasional horse trailer.
Fear. It was fear she felt most,
fear that things were changing.
She had eaten that morning, as usual,
her breakfast of hay, pellets and grain.
The lady had groomed her and exercised her,
and the boy had stopped by with a carrot.
Only the old man was missing.
She hadn't seen him in weeks.
She watched them carry something
and load it into the wagon.
The lady talked to the men,
and the mare watched,
knowing that nothing had changed,
but things would never be the same again.
Rattlesnake
If we see it on the ground, we scream, get a gun and shoot it.
If it's in the road, we swerve, to avoid getting the fang in our tire.
It is a most hated reptile, and it has been around a few million years.
I know all that, but what purpose does it serve?
A Gopher snake can find small rodents, a Coachwhip goes for larger fare.
Neither of them has a toxic bite, yet both slither across the land.
Did God make the rattlesnake for some special use or purpose?
I'm trying to understand.
I think God was busy with bigger things; making land masses and oceans,
getting the sun to burn, and the planets to revolve.
And while He was doing the good stuff, the big stuff,
the Devil sneaked in, and helped the rattlesnake evolve.
First Earthquake
Each little paw was shaking,
and the poor pup didn't know why.
She looked around for her master,
but he wasn't there
and neither were his wife or kids.
There was no one anywhere;
just one little pup in an earthquake,
and no one to hear her cry.
Whatever was making her paws shake,
she'd teach it, She'd scare it away!
So she stood strong, looked tough,
and barked two little woofs.
The shaking stopped. She did it!
She wished her family was there.
She was so proud.
Sometimes, when you're scared,
you just have to stand up straight and bark out loud.
The Grizzly Bear
The Grizzly Bear and the prickly pear
do not belong in the same rhyme,
since Grizzly Bears don't live anywhere near
prickly pears,and to place them as such
would be a geographically poetical crime.
The bear might notice the cactus,
especially the sweet fruit of deep red,
but the sharp needles of the prickly pear
might go unnoticed until
they poke the bear's paw, body or head.
So watch yourself, Papa Grizzly!
Just dine on what you bears usually eat;
eat salmon and fish,
and most other things you wish
and avoid the prickly pear treat.