as noble as they come..

the barn was smaller than i remembered
i had not been back there since i was 12,
34 years ago..
memory's dream-like flooded my mind,
bits and pieces of moment, shadow, and emotions,
the dog pens between the house and barn had vanished,
as if never there..
along with Quarter Horses,
we raised German Shorthaired Pointers,
the sire was named Rock..
he was a liver spotted regal gentleman,
as noble as they come..
at one point we had 25 dogs,
not counting the five faithful mutts that followed me everywhere I'd go..
the wood barn was bleached by the sun,
sad, worn and tattered..
i used to climb up in the loft to drop hay down to my horse,
once,
i found my dad asleep on an army cot in the loft,
i was quiet as a mouse as i dropped the hay through the hole above the stall,
i wonder now what i must have reasoned as to why he was there..
i think i was 10 at the time..
i had a vivid imagination,
i probably pretended he was a G.I. Joe on a mission or something..
i had no idea it was the beginning of the end of the only life i had known..
redemption's story always begins with upheaval,
a shaking,
and losing one's way.

wkm
Nashville