Sunday, October 9, 2011

And to Think That I Saw It on Myboring Street

Inspired by Dr. Seuss
Let me preface this post with a quick explanation - - - I live in Smalltown, USA, right in the heart of Amish Country (of the uncommercialized variety).  I see (and hear) Amish buggies clopping by all throughout the day – it’s nothing new and, around here, it’s not a novelty.  I live 4 doors down from the post office, and visit at least once per day.  On a normal day, it’s a quick walk up and back – nothing too exciting usually happens around here.  It is what it is.
But yesterday . . . well, let’s just say I got home and the words to one of my all-time favorite Dr. Seuss books were rolling around in my head. 
fall 2011 “All the long way to school
And all the way back,
I’ve looked and I’ve looked
And I’ve kept careful track,
But all that I’ve noticed,
Except my own feet,
Was a horse and a wagon
On Mulberry Street.”
~Dr. Seuss

I, too, have a horse and wagon story to tell . . .
While walking to the post office on an ordinary day
I saw no one to talk to, I had nothing to say.
See, I was in a hurry – I had things to do, places to go.
I wanted to grab the mail and hurry home, keeping my profile low.
The trip there was just as always, fairly quiet and not much fun.
But, as I was walking home, I glimpsed a horse on quite a run!
A horse and wagon moved quite swiftly across a busy street,
It tried to round a corner and the horse slipped on his feet.
Praise God no cars were coming, which is not the normal way;
I stood in shock, just wondering what I might do and say.
At first I thought I should run and check for an Amish man;
But, before I could move, that horse was up and on the run again.
This time, heading straight toward me and moving awfully swiftly;
I ducked behind a neighbor’s fence, in hopes the horse would miss me.
As it dashed by, I turned to look and follow it on its course
Thankfully no one was on the wagon being pulled by that crazed horse!
I watched as the horse drifted to the right and as if in slow motion
It ran right into a telephone pole – it seemed unloading its burden was the notion.
The buggy was smashed and the horse broke free and ran with all its might
The front of the buggy scraped up a car – it was all quite an interesting sight.
People began to gather round, all shocked and wondering what had just taken place.
It’s not often the locals see an Amish horse going by at such a fast pace.
Someone worked to find the horse and try to get it calmed down
While others were wondering where the driver was and how he might be found.
I began my journey home thinking, “wow, did this really all take place?!”
It certainly stirred up some excitement, and caused my heart to race.
My imagination couldn’t have dreamed this up, that would have been quite a feat-
So much more than a plain horse and wagon right here on Myboring Street.
*This poem copyright Heidi Strawser, October, 2011.  Please do not reprint or reuse without permission.

7 comments:

Sheri said...

Hi HO Silver-AWAY! Crazy man! Glad you weren't hurt!

Kristi said...

Great Poem. It reminded me of one of the scenes in Susan Marlow's Andrea Carter books when the kids were racing down the main drag. Guessing a newly broken horse? Glad you were safe. :)

Debra said...

That is a bit of excitement! Glad everyone was safe...

Unknown said...

Wow! Glad you are okay, but what a sight that must have been!

Susan said...

Wow, scary. Glad you are ok. I suspect you won't think of going to the post office as quite so boring anymore. :0)

HillaryM said...

Just from the post title, I knew which book you meant--one of my favorites, too. Quite a bit of excitement for your boring street. :D

Sara @ Embracing Destiny said...

I'd guess it's pretty safe to say that you won't see runaway horses on too many Main Streets these days! Wow!

Cute poem!

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