Expecting

Patience is not my strong suit as my wife can attest. We want everything right now, but Mother Nature reminds us that some things just have to take their course, and one of those is a horse's gestation. When we breed a mare, we get excited, but we have to wait a long, long time. This poem is entitled Expecting.

"We live in a society of instant gratification.

Only things I can have right now will satisfy my expectation.

We want instant results.

Patience is a thing of the past.

We just go to the drive-through 'cause we want our food so fast.

But some things just can't be rushed, as a rancher comes to learn.

Nature has its own independent schedule, with everything in turn.

One of those processes, which must simply run its course,

Is the eleven-month period known as gestation of the horse.

There's no way to push fast forward, or hit the gas for acceleration,

To hurry along the mare's full period of gestation.

So I know I must be patient to reach my long-term goal,

as I await the third trimester and the birth of that foal.

We'll feed the mare some extra grain and get her used to the stall,

while we have the foal kit ready to respond to nature's call.

And I'll express a hope while counting the days somehow.

God grant me patience, and let me have it right now.

Happy trails!"