The Horses Went Wild

I gave the horses hay that evening,

filled the sacks and watched them eat.

Carinho, Veera, Via together,

hungry mouths and restless feet.

They ate like hungry wolves before me,

so I knew what I should do.

Tomorrow I would open more pasture,

give the grass and fields anew.

Morning came with Luna and Usva.

We walked the southern field.

Then I went to move the fence line,

almost finished with the deal.

The horses came from where they waited,

half wild with hunger in their eyes.

I said, “Just give me one more minute.” Carinho had a different

plan in mind.

The horses went wild,

and the morning came alive.

Over the fence and into the fields,

three hungry spirits on the rise.

I had a plan.

They had one too.

And theirs was moving faster than mine.

The horses went wild,

and somewhere in the adventure

a lesson waited there for me to find.

Carinho broke through the fence line,

leader of his little herd.

Veera followed, Via with her,

no one listening to my words.

I went to get a rope and halter.

Catch Carinho, that was the plan.

Take the leader, others follow.

Simple thinking from a man.

But Carinho would not come near me.

Neither Veera, neither Via.

Every time I moved toward them,

they moved farther through the field.

The horses went wild,

and the morning came alive.

Across the neighbor’s waiting fields,

three hungry spirits on the rise.

I had a plan.

They had one too.

And theirs was moving faster than mine.

The horses went wild,

and somewhere in the adventure

a lesson waited there for me to find.

I almost turned Veera toward homeward,

then she changed her mind again.

That was when the wisdom found me standing in that open land.

Let them eat. Let hunger soften.

Let the wildness lose its flame.

Not every problem needs more pushing.

Sometimes patience wins the game.

So I became the field-side guardian,

watching horses eat their fill.

What could have looked like catastrophe

slowly became quiet and still.

About an hour beneath the open sky,

I watched and let them be.

And when my lady friend arrived there,

Carinho came with her more easily.

She took the leader.

The others followed. The herd became a herd once more.

And I went back to mend the fence line,

wiser than I was before.

The horses went wild,

and the morning came alive.

Over the fence and into the fields,

three hungry teachers on the rise.

I had a plan.

Life had one too.

And life was moving faster than mine.

The horses went wild,

but what looked like a disaster

became another teaching in my life.

Sometimes hold the rope.

Sometimes mend the fence.

Sometimes stand and watch.

Sometimes wisdom says: Let them eat.

Let them calm.

And learn from the horses.

The horses went wild.

And I learned again how life can teach.