A Man and His Horse
By Stephanie Kemp
(A poetic rewrite of a Tao classic, while I’m at the doctor’s office thinking in parables)
One Day an old man’s horse ran away.
The town cried, “Oh NO! (Will the man be ok?)”
“That horse was all the poor old man had.
Now he has nothing. It’s so very sad.”
But then, some days later, the horse wandered back…
and brought with him 12 friends - a whole “Equine Pack!”
The town cried out, “Wow! A true bait and switch!
Now the old guy is beyond super rich!”
But then, late one night, the rich old man’s son
snuck out a horse, “just for some fun.”
The horse was strong, and channeled The Force.
The boy was thrown off (and injured, of course…).
The town cried, “ZOINKS! His ankle is toast!”
(“…and that is the son the man loved the most.”)*
But then - out of nowhere! - the Feds kicked off “WAR!”
They had some soldiers, but
They came to the house to draft the man’s boy,
but his sad, mangled ankle now only brought joy.
The son was unable to go off and fight,
So he didn’t (have to) die in the night.
And when, the next morning, the wise old man woke…
He said: “Today this is true: I am whole, I’m not broke.”
Therein lies the moral of this beyond genius story:
There is Nothing that Sticks - Not the Shit, Not the Glory.
Which now brings us to....Our Very Real End,
Except that we (have to)....Start Over Again!
THE END (to be continued)
*/Ps…I made up the part about “the son the man loved most” because I needed something to rhyme with “toast.” If the old man had more than one son (or was lucky enough to also have any daughters), he obviously would have loved all of his children equally.
Cc: My Children, Any/Everyone Else, Any/Everyone Else’s Children
Special Thanks to Carol (for always making sure I know some classics, while also throwing in a much needed dash of Taoism).