Cricket

by Jacklyn Irwin

I climb on top of my huge,
strong friend,
a horse called ‘Cricket.’
He is warm 
and I can feel his body
moving and flexing
beneath me
under my legs.

I feel his power
but I am not afraid.
He carries me carefully
and steadily
along pathways in nature.

I love it
when it rains
softly on us both.
I feel connected
to the living energy
of the world.

Thank you, Cricket.
You give me joy.

Jacklyn Irwin was a non-speaking young woman who belonged to the Sunshine Coast Writer’s group and The Brotherhood of the Wordless. Her work has been published in anthologies of both groups as well as Prism, A collection of Contemporary International Poetry. Creative writing was a great passion of hers.