The Christmas Pony

[JANUSSTUDIO@aol.com]

The weather here is frightful, so here is a little Christmas poem for you.
Jan


The Christmas Pony

I wailed and I begged and even said a prayer
I stomped and spat ‘til I had no more air.
I was good, I was bad,
Alas, nothing could make me glad.
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

A live one, a real one, one that moved,
No plastic for me I wanted one hooved.
To paw and stomp and take me for a romp.
Over plains and deserts and even the swamp.
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

The old barn was empty, yet I sat there and yearned,
chewed my fingernails til my stomach churned.
He would be beautiful and graceful and loving and small.
On his back I would fly, I would laugh, I would be tall.
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

Christmas was near yet I had no cheer,
I could think of nothing to do but shed a tear.
Mom and Dad ignored my wish list of the only one
And it seemed their shopping had already been done.
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

Beneath the tree my spot was bare, 
and no one seemed to care, 
It was Christmas morn' all cold and gray,
Dad called to me, he had something to say.
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

"Only a pony would do?" he asked,
and shook his head askance.
"Look there, what has arrived.
Don't know how it was contrived."
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

I gazed upon the creature,
taking in his every feature.
My eyes were wide, my mouth agape
‘Twas a equine of some sort of misshape.
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

It's ears were long and heavy,
his head was nothing to envy.
Every toe pointed a different direction
desperately in need of correction.
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

Disappointment threatened to swallow me
as I gazed at that old donkey.
I bit my lip and closed my eyes,
clenched my fists and swallowed my cries.
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

"I know you wanted a pony, and nothing else would do
and I wanted it for you too.
But you've wailed and stomped, broken every rule
and showed yourself to be as stubborn as a mule."
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

"So now you have your pony,
to show you testimony.
Take him to your heart,
and learn you both to be smart."
Nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

And now that I am older,
and have learned to simply smolder.
Ponies and horses have gone through my life
over hills, rivers and dales, I've handled every strife.
Because - nothing, nothing but a pony would do.

© Janice Taylor