Was it those black and white
50’s Cowboy shows
Glowing from TV screens
Or costumed Palomino riders
Their steeds tacked out so they gleam
Parading avenue confluences
Where Hollywood meets Vine
Leave a fine set of impressions
On an eager child's mind
Like Orange Grove cowgirl Sue
A young girl’s passing fancy
Shakes her dreamworld loose
Then reality takes the reins again
Oh please... drive to Pickwick Stables
Mom and Daddy please...
There may be ponies in the paddock
Swishing their tails upon the breeze
Speaking equine lingo
Easily understood
By Orange Grove cowgirl Sue
A straw hat and pointy boots
Worn out with intention
Pencil drawing done now
Of course, crayon colored in
A horse head shape she cuts-out &
Tethered mane fixed to a beam of wood
That ‘ol mop handle’s lookin’ good
She rode and rode around the yard
From front to back and then again
Rides Orange Grove cowgirl Sue
At last one day it happened
Way south of the Burbank hills
A horse that she could call her own
But she’d have to pay the bills
For feed and gear and atmosphere
Where the Valles family roams
Right next door to Sue’s La Mesa citrus home
Penny’s her new companion
Inseparable are the two
Says Orange Grove cowgirl Sue
Written 4/19/2020 by: Dan’l McIlhenny~ McMinnville, Oregon