The Last Apache

I smile

When I think of you, I smile

And I remember the things that made you so special to me

The fondness of memories that were too brief for my own heart

But whole enough to carry me forward

For the years to come

My pale dragon, the prince of peppermints and powdered donuts

Ice blue eyes and countless hours you graciously shared

Your gifts of patience and your quiet insistence

That we do things right by you

Those were precious to me

To all of us

Through you, I learned to fly

And when I dream of galloping along hidden pathways

With secrets upon my lips meant only for the ears of the Faery Queen

It is your broad back that I float upon

And now you dance amongst the stars

With all the other wonders of the heavens

Made all the more beautiful by your sweet soul ~

I wrote this for the first horse I ever loved, a big boned, 16hh, Palamino Paint nicknamed Patch. We met on a cold January night when the real feel temp was -13 and I was to have my first ever riding lesson. The lesson got nixed due to the temps, but the instructor (who later became a dear friend) took me around to meet the horses. Patch was the kind of horse who took your breath away. We approached his stall, and I immediately “knew” him. His cool, blue eyes looked down at me and all my mouth could say was – wow… And so began our friendship. I lessoned on him, eventually long-term leased him and we lost him all too soon to multiple, chronic health struggles. He was 19 when he died.