Warhorse Country
by Annie Jenkin

Freshly dressed in summer colours,
new leaves dance in the wind,
and small tree branches are as excited
as a child waving its arms in the air.

Ewes and white fleeced lambs graze
between yellow gorse bushes,
the hum of city traffic forgotten
as I travel narrow country lanes.

Pausing in passing places
I wave back to grateful drivers,
but need to gently toot my horn
to move large black cows along.

Trekking up and down hills
the ground dry and dusty,
where pale parched long grasses
continuously ripple and rustle.

Little brown skylarks nest nearby
pairs rise and begin to sing,
I stand and listen to this joyful,
beautiful song filling the sky.

Joey a veteran and plough horse
one of the few to return,
cantered this very land
in the silence of peace.

Climbing to the top of a tor,
I slowly turn in a circle, looking
at this vast empty space, enraptured
by the feeling of belonging.


Footnote: Warhorse, the movie, was filmed on the Moorland in South Devon, UK.


 

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