Lord of the Plains

The Lord of the Plains
by Me


The sky grows dark with imminent monsoon rains

and in the distance thunder rumbles the plains.

Not from the forlorn sky does this growing roar break,

But hundreds of hoofbeats make the ground quake. 

A hundred strong of four hundred feet

a continuous pulsing of rhythmic drum beats,

A gritty blanket of dust rises to mingle with cloud

Casting the world in haunting dark shroud.

A brave leader emerges, charging ahead

The plains pause in hesitant dread

Even the tumultuous sky holds its gusty breath

In preparation for the harbinger of death.

But death is not what this stallion brings

Instead the mighty song of freedom he sings,

And as he races ahead in a black blur of speed

He challenges others to take heed--

As he charges through prairie stream and field

The earth can do nothing but yield,

Over fences of man, over every vale and hollow;

He calls to those who dare to follow--

In his footsteps of freedom, treading where he pleases,

Chasing a choice place of warmth and cool breezes.

His urgency for Home cannot be denied--

He picks up his pace as he nears the Divide.

An exuberant neigh and echoes ring out

The melody of life, and a life of liberty devout--

The ground shakes under their hooves in adoring applause,

As these soldiers stampede with strength to their cause--

And as if hailing the midnight stallion's honorable run, 

The clouds dissipate and uncover the afternoon sun.

And still the charger pushes ever faster and harder;

Undeterred from his mission, his noble ardor.

And as he leads his kin to a wide open space,

Of ample grasses swaying with gentle grace,

He signals a halt with a toss of wild ebony mane--

And his company obeys this Lord of the Plains.

The sun glints off the sweat on this general of horses

This able commander of life's vital forces.

As he raises his head high in the air

He's pleased to have found this magical where,

A vale of safety, where his family may thrive

A place to revel in being alive,

Because this trailblazer cared more than enough

To keep on going, when the going got tough.

Never giving up, as the storm continued to brew--

No, this stallion had a far-seeing view,

Past the rain, the winds, and the frigid snow--

To the final destination...the Prairie Rainbow.