Horsewoman

This isn't my poem...but it's one of my absolute favorites, and most likely it will be how I end up as an old woman.
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when I am an old horsewoman
I shall wear leather
I shall wear turquoise and diamonds
and a straw hat that doesn't suit me
and I shall spend my social security
on red wine and carrots
and sit in the alleyway of my barn
and listen to my horses breathe.

I will sneak out in the middle of the night
and ride the old gray arab mare
across the moonstruck meadow
if my old bones will allow
and when people come to call
I will smile and nod
as I walk past the garden to the barn
and show instead of flowers,
stalls fresh lined with straw.

I will shovel and sweat
and wear hay in my hair as if it were jewels
and I will be an embarrassment to all
who will have not yet found the peace
in being free to have a horse as a best friend;
a friend who waits at midnight hour with muzzle and nicker and patient eyes
for the kind of woman I will be
...when I am old.

author unknown

=)