Where Stars Collide
by Michael Doyle

Some animals have an affinity.
It's as if they're part of the family.
Love, it's said, is a true heart's bond.
There's mutual respect, and there is beyond.

There are the many, and there are the few.
But those who get closest, bond to you.
It's the footprints in our hearts,
We feel most, and sometimes from the start.

The connection is often profound and unbreakable.
It's an essence of love and often unspeakable.
But to ride a horse is to ride the very sky.
There's something unshakable in this do-or-die.

I saw it in how my sister gently reined
Her horses that it was said that she trained.
It seemed more like a reaching of an understanding,
With neither side being overly demanding.

There was beauty and spirit filled with grace.
I watched the gentle nuzzle like a kind of embrace.
Remembrance of these moments is deeply emotional.
They taught me something of what we call devotional.

Not an hour was ever wasted in her riding in the saddle.
Remembering this helped me watch her nine-year battle.
Cancer came filling in the marrow of her bones,
But as long as she had old Blue, she was never alone.

Even now, after the passing of many years
My eyes too easily fill up with tears
That I hide away, faking being brave one more day.
I wonder what she and Blue would say if they could say.

Perhaps it matters less what it is that you know,
And maybe wisdom is a shade that's just for show.
What truly matters is how much you care.
It's care and love that pays the Stygian fare.

Old Blue was a sort of mirror to her beautiful soul.
Maybe that's why both responded without needing control.
There was the discipline of shared barrel racing,
And the sharpness of cattle cutting without much chasing.

Horses had taught her that strength doesn't need to roar.
It's an overwhelming gentleness that soars.
Somewhere up in Heaven, I'm sure that they still ride,
Out in the back forty, where stars collide.

(c) January 6, 2026   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved