All the pretty horses

All she ever wanted
Just a horse, a friendly beast
That’s she could call her own.
A beauty, any color would do,
Big or small
Any size at all,
It didn’t matter
Because it would be hers.
And she could call it any name
That she felt like, and she would talk to it,
Feed it, tell it her secrets
And it would understand.
It would rescue her and take her far away
From this life she lived,
The terrors surrounding her.

The nightmares would disappear
If she only had a horse, any horse would do.
It would be a magical beast
With powers to make her invisible,
To hide her in the darkness
To let her grow up and be brave.
She would have a friend
And they would ride in the sunshine
In meadows
And the horse would munch on tall grasses
And apples and carrots too, she told herself.
Yes, it would be just her and her horse
And it would be all she would ever need.
I saw her cry when they told her no
Yet once again,
And a piece of her died inside.
I gave her my stuffed one, but it was not
All she needed, all she wanted,
It would not take her away,
It would not stop her tears
It would not piece back together her soul.
As she grew up, she never got a horse,
I don’t know if she still dreams of it,
Or not.
I hope she’s found all she needs
I hope she still has some dreams
That do come true.