I shall wear diamonds.
And a wide-brimmed straw hat with ribbons and flowers on it.
And I shall spend my social security check on white wine and carrots,
and sit in the alley of my barn and listen to my horses breathe.

I will sneak out in the middle of a summer's night and ride my midnight mare
across the moonstruck meadow ....
If my old bones will allow.

And when people come to call, I will smile and nod
as I walk them past the gardens to the barn,
and show, instead, the flowers growing there
in stalls fresh lined with wood shavings.

I will shovel and sweat, and wear hay in my hair as if it were a jewel.
And I will be an embarrassment to all who look down on me
who have not yet found the peace in being free to love a horse as a friend.

A friend who waits
with muzzle and nicker and patient eyes.
For that's the kind of woman I will be... When I am old."

Author unknown