Like the Wind

You’ve heard the expression, “run like the wind?”

My partner’s an older horse.
He’s not in his best condition, got a touch of arthritis here and there.
We go out for a little ride, he’s in no particular hurry.
Takes his time.
No urgency.
No Pavlovian work ethic.
Just strolling along, whistling a tune.

But every once in a while, he gets in a mood.
Most often it’s on a cool, cloudy day when the wind is up, tugging at his mane, tiny whirlwinds dancing up dust as they spin across the paddock like valkyrie, teasing and taunting…

He gets in this mood where he can’t keep still, paws the ground, paces, tosses his head, like a boxer getting ready to answer the opening bell.
He gets in this mood where he just wants to run.
And when he does, I just turn him loose and let him fly.

His gallop eats up ground the way an alcoholic going off the wagon tosses down tequila.
The world becomes a blur, and I lean forward, feel the powerful beat of his hooves under me, each one lighting on the ground just long enough to spark off of it again.

When he gets in this mood, he could run forever and just might, except there is no such thing as time. Just being. And I believe that when the Creator thought “horse,” this is what he had in mind.

When he’s satisfied himself, he slows to a trot, a prancing trot, then finally down to a walk that’s about 80 proof strut.
We pause to look behind us, and way, way back there, choking on our dust, we can just make out The Wind, bent-over by the side of the road, puking, swearing and gasping for breath.

And we laugh about it all the way home.


sj