This is a conversation that takes place between a boy and a horse. The boy is going through changes in life. Stumbling through experiences and attaching the end of the rope to quite literally the end of the journey, towards the end course of the experience. And the horse. The horse is the most common animal the boy has come across yet the wisest. They are both vividly different but yet both are facing the oncoming of one common thing – getting through, and everything in between.
This theme is inspired by The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy. And, the story has been inspired by every encounter each of us has endured. And as the horse says, ‘the truth is, everyone, is winging it.’
Boy:
I stumble, I fall
One step forward, three steps back – all I do is hit a wall
I look up and beneath it, I feel so small
Will I make it at all?
Horse:
Hey, what’s it with you?
Change is what we all see, from dawn to dew.
In the darkest nights when hope feels far away,
When troubles surround you and the skies are all grey,
Remember, my friend, you are stronger than you know,
In the face of changes, your spirit will grow.
Boy:
It’s not the aspect of change that scares me,
But how fleeting it can be.
I am here now and there later,
Who’ll tell me about how to get through the in-between, before it gets better?
Horse:
The ‘in-between,’ the across and through,
Is when every turn is a factor in creating ‘you.’
It is true that we often only talk about the laurels of when we make it to the end,
When the real struggle and story is in how we transcend.
Boy:
You say that but all I feel is like a broken piece of glass,
The efforts I sew are strewn like detached leaves on muddy grass.
I’m like that leaf, swept around, tumbling wildly on its fall
When all I hoped was for a soft landing – how do I make it through at all?
Will you tell me about it?
About how even with no place up, the creeper still strives and grows, consuming the space every bit.
How in the waves of the sea, we find ourselves learning the art of ups and downs,
And how it’s the salt, the rain, and tears that dress up our wounds.
How when the sun rises, or falls, it paints the sky with colors, making the sky an admirable sight,
Will you tell me about it?
Horse:
Even if it’s a shattered glass, the pieces can mend,
It’s through the cracks that light descends.
You know, it never gets easier – you just get better.
And even in the harshest winds, the rock doesn’t deter.
And as the waves come crashing through the rocks,
In our rafts, we don’t pause but push forward with all our might, cheering through the knocks.
Boy:
You ask me to keep moving forward but then the wind changes its direction,
I take a chance to look at myself but it’s like looking into ripples for reflection.
I move forward but the blows put a fight and push me back,
In every triumph I gain something, but there’s always something I lack.
Horse:
Aye boy, find the meaning in the moment and then you’ll see,
In what you feel, lies the lesson and the key.
You talk about the wind, but what you don’t see is that it never stops but keeps moving on,
It breezes and blows, giving you space to fly upon.
Boy:
I think I see it now,
It’s not about when I find a way through but towards it I do it how.
For, to witness the stars, if I don’t embrace the night the beauty will be in vain,
And to see my flowers bloom, they will have to dance a little in the rain.
Horse:
There you go. There is an inherent beauty in the daily act of perseverance but the process cannot be taught,
We each have our own experiences and how through the tunnel the light is brought.
Just remember, when you are low and down, hopeless, hurt and sad,
You don’t have to justify if you are feeling off a tad.
Even with the storm, it is about how you sailed through it,
You kept going, kept pushing, and never for a moment, quit.
Boy:
I now know that I will be fine,
Sometimes all I have to do it take a breath and give it some time.
It is now knowing that the storm will make me,
For the rainbow, I wanted to be.
I have and will always make it through,
Find the courage and joy in nurturing myself, for in every chapter of change, I grew.
We all have our own battles. Some big, some small. Some terrifying, some long. We do find ourselves a stronger and changed person but also, we commend ourselves for it. This idea, this thought, and this creation of words are merely rooted in the simple act of getting through the day. What I learned is that we don’t ever lose our hope. We don’t ever lose our strength to fight and make it through. And what we never do let go of is the story only we knew when we couldn’t find it in us to look for the light not at the end of the tunnel, but in us. We learn to love it, the change I mean, we learn to accept it and embrace it because it becomes a part of us, and bit by bit, it evolves and transforms. And eventually, we do pick ourselves back up and find out that we will be okay, that we are going to be okay. Afterall, we do wing it.