The Farthest Wave: The Horse's Nose

The Horse's Nose

Originally composed ca. 1983

The horse's nose, the horse's nose,
Why did you kiss the horse's nose?
She sniffs and she snuffles where
Anything grows,
Then she snorts and she sneezes
And down, down it flows,
All the way down the horse's nose.

Out in the meadow she mows, she mows.
And what does she eat, do you suppose?
Whatever it is, only her nose knows.

And I wonder still about the horse's nose.
Why, why did you kiss the horse's nose?
Perhaps... maybe... is it because,
From the top of your head
To the tip of your toes,
You love that horse
And you're makin' sure as she nose?

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Background:

While growing up in the Oregon country side we had a number of horses over the years. I rode them occasionally, but it was usually my sister who took care of them. I remember Julie, a buckskin named Athena, Melody, and a few others. Horses are among the most affectionate of animals, and this poem was inspired by a moment one morning before my sister took Athena out for a ride. She kissed Athena on the nose, and that became a very precious memory.