My Gracie

"It was a freak accident."
I'm hearing but not understanding.
How could something like this happen to my Gracie?

"It wasn't his fault, he tripped, all horses do it."
Joe's beautiful black head snaps to my mind's eye.
How could something like tripping happen to my Joe?

These questions soar in my brain, how could?, how could?

It was a winter day
Gracie and Joe went on a trail ride in the snow
They knew the way,
They knew everything about the trail there was to know.

Everything was fine
Steady as could be their hearts thudded as one
They didn't know it was the end of the line
No one knew what was to come.

It was s hill they had traveled many a time
Nothing had ever gone askew
Before it had been such a steady climb
It was time God knew.

Down they fell
A crack and scream could be heard
This was their farewell
A tragedy had occurred.

Sirens filled the once still air
The once calm hill was now a flurry of hurried bodies
A mother and father were crouched in prayer
The atmosphere carried everyone's anxieties.

At the hospital they arrive
Their baby was dying
They pray she will stay alive
In their hearts they knew she was trying.

At the vet's the word wasn't good
Poor Joe was broken
While at one time he stood
His end had finally been spoken.

8:30am Joe takes his last breath
My Gracie isn't improving
All around us is death
My Gracie is losing.

Evening is upon us and Gracie is pulled from Earth
Now she and my Joe are not to be seen
About us is no mirth
My Gracie died just before she hit fourteen.
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Please comment and rate. This poem has so much feeling put into it.

R.I.P "My Gracie" June 12 1995 - January 5 2009

R.I.P Joe April 14 1999 - January 5 2009