My brother, Bill, had a black horse
that he loved more than anything, I guess,
He named that horse, Charley, and every day
brought Charley out to polish his black coat
and talk to him like Charley was people
and could understand.
One day, Charley went missing
and my brother went crazy
looking everywhere for Charley.
“You won’t find it” our brother Walter said,
“I threw it in the lake. Besides, it was just a toy”
And we knew it had to be true;
Walter was jealous of everything any of us had
and loved.
“Maybe we can find another black horse” I said
to my brother, Bill;
“It won’t be the same thing” my brother said tearfully.
“There can’t be another Charley”
Sandra Lee Smith
January, 2015
For Bill and his Charley
