QUAIL MUTTERINGS #55. Ode To Mirage (April 2019)

QUAIL MUTTERINGS #55. Ode to Mirage (April 2019)

I want to extend my deepest thanks to you, Mirage, for expanding your being into our hearts. And for profoundly touching so many souls on a multitude of levels, sometimes beyond our comprehension. And for being the best horse possible for Kali during those eventing years – voted “Best Couple” at the Pony Club awards ceremony. I loved watching you run across the meadows – free in the canyon, silvery tail lifted, neck arched gracefully… I could say so much more about you: how much I loved you, the good times and the bad, the way you’d come up to me – wherever I was – and bring me more present into the moment – you had an unerring gift for that. But for now, may this suffice.

Here’s to you, Mirage:

The shining light of the canyon

A compact form of compassion

Silver mane glittering in the sunshine

Radiating magic in the moonshine

An inquisitive nature

And persistent attention taker

Always an interest in interaction

Even over green grass’s attraction

Your flapping of lips

A comical twist

Adding character and wit

To your endearing spirit

The sly, sideways hint of a nose that’d been bit

By a serpent which lay in a pit

Gave an off-kilter profile

Most endearing after a while

To we who were drawn to your field

The greeter of guests

Nudging them in their chests

Touching our hearts

With yours – off the charts

Your full-bodied whinny

Still echoing your wild roots

One final call from your stable mate

And your answer – one last time

So full of life

While ours – not so rife

We’re left adrift now that you have moved on

But we’ll somehow continue

Even though we so miss you

And remember our light of the canyon.

Chi Varnado is working on a new MG/YA series about a dance studio. Her memoir, A CANYON TRILOGY: Life Before, During and After the Cedar Fire and her children’s book, The Tale of Broken Tail are available on www.amazon.com. Her collection of essays, Quail Mutterings, can be found on www.chivarnado.com. You can follow us on www.Facebook.com/gnomewoodcanyon.