both the horse and I are old
my hair now matches his
our armor no longer shines
the squire married and has kids
yet there are issues
that call us to ride again
the injustice of power
applied to herds of sheep
which follow the lead dog
even over a cliff  

what do they see when we ride
a little old lady in tennis shoes
carrying a picket sign
a feather in the wind
to the powerful
but can they attend
to an army  of us
marching in the spirit of freedom
and justice
they can't see the horse or armor  

do we accept tilting at windmills
playing at Joan of Arc
a band of individuals
or can we join
with one loud voice
riding a herd of wild horses
lances poised
in favor of social issues
tending rather than killing
in a holy war for oil

Sandy Vrooman
is a woman of undetermined age with a deceptively normal appearance who has lived in the San Francisco South Bay for the last 35 years. She dabbles in many art forms but doesn't sit still long enough to master any of them. Now retired, she hopes to master something. Her works have appeared on line in several Iceflow publications, Juice an online poetry journal, Autumn Leaves Poetry Journal, and 40 Plus. Her Shai hai have been published in Canadian Zen Haiku.

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