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The rain didn't fall 
last night so much
as it was thrown.

The wind didn't blow
last night so much
as it was whipped.

And a whip is
a thing which
lacerates, it cuts.

The day after
was the last day
and the next days
will be filled with
no more and no longer
until the next days
outnumber the 
here-with-us days
and the days after those
days will pile on, unmercifully
as well.  The whipwind cuts.

Whippy storm.
Shallow breath.
Dirtied coat.
Abraded eyes.
Right one swollen.
No bowel signs right,
and few on left.
Unwilling to move -
pressed rump-first into
a corner
facing southwest.
Signs of sweat.

"My other horse went this way."
she weakly offers
to the morning air,
to the isn't there,
foreshadowing shadows
and coming despair.

"I wish the doctor would
hurry up and get here."
though we knew he would,
he was, he would be...
soon.
How soon?  We didn't know.

     -     -     -


Shaving tummy,
seeking what's beneath,
what is deep.
Ultrasound inconclusive.
Which leads to a conclusion,
the conclusion.

Mommy cooing for hours.
She's brushing him now.

"He's toxic" says doc J.
"It's time." quietly said
to all who already know.
But the spokeness of it is
it's own gift.
The haunting guess brought into 
Life, into the moment
into Astro's stall.


     -     -     -

Outside, the crows cried.
The grey winds sucked
warmth.


"You're gonna like where
you'll be." repeated Momma K.
A stroke.
A kiss.
A nuzzle.
A forelock felt.

He thumped down.
Momma started.
We four knelt down,
knowing that but
three would rise.

Syringe after syringe.
Twenty two years.

"His heart's stopped now,"
says Doc
"That's just his diaphragm
tryin' to do its job."
Astro huffs heartily.

     -     -     -

Blankets cover him now,
in a damp paddock.
His bridle off.
At long last.

He is still.
She shakes.

Tears from both.


     -     -     -

The wind won't stop.

He seems to breathe.
It's just the wind
under the blankets.
He really seems to breathe.


     -     -     -

"I learned so much from this horse."
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