99poems/different

DIFFERENT

This morning I walk
a different path,
a loop where I know
the wildflowers
will be in bloom.
Past the orderly home
that seems out of place,
and the one with
the green school bus
in the yard.
Down a trail where
I have never been
to the back of
a horse farm,
where riders circle
the field, going
over one low jump,
avoiding the rest.
And the trainer’s voice,
praising and instructing,
“Squeeze the legs in,”
with an inflection
and a tone
that is so unusual
I stop to hear.

3/13/99