on the beautiful island of  jamaica

a few years back

i

went

horseback riding

with my friend

and a ‘guide’

and no regulations

and no paperwork

and off we went

up

into the mountains

only to  find

a tiny coffee shop

in the middle of nowhere

serving wonderful

 blue mountain coffee

and

 a farmer

way up high

on the mountain

who had a cooler

of local beer

and

who grew

local crops

some legal

some not

we stopped

for a rest

and a beer

and

tried out

the local crops

then headed

back down the mountain

and my horse

took off like a shot

 running

at top speed

and

we flew

through the trees

over the trail

into the bushes

i pulled back

on the reins

with all of my strength

to slow him down

held on tight

 planning to roll

when i would

at last

be thrown off

the guide

caught up

grabbed my reins

yelled something

to my horse

who finally

slowed down

and said

‘oh, mon. i forgot to tell you

 you are riding

‘lightning’

he loves to race

as fast as the wind

whenever

there are other horses around

glad you held on’

and my friend caught up and said

‘ i saw your sandals fly off

as you galloped away

 and it was one wild ride

to see from behind.’

and i said,

‘good thing

i wore my ‘relax’ shirt.’

though

i’m not sure

my horse could read

—

riding:  the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.  ~author unknown