Horse Illustrated Magazine

August 18, 2016

Dear Diary,

I’ve been reading back through my past diary entries and I found the ones I wrote as poems. I laughed and laughed and laughed, and then I read them to Goldie and she laughed and laughed, too. Then I read them to everyone in the barn, and guess what? We’re going to have a poetry contest!

That’s right. Every day, one of us is going to write a poem in my diary, and when we’re done we’re going to vote on whose is best. Today is my turn, and I know I’m going to win because I’m such an exceptional poet-pony.

I call this poem, “My Friend the Fly.”

Most little ponies don’t like flies.

They don’t like their noise or their tiny size.

They don’t like the way they fly at our eyes.

But I know a fly,

And his name is Guy,

He’s a good little fly and that ain’t no lie.

Most ponies think that flies are bad,

When they see one coming they all get mad,

They don’t know that even flies get sad,

But I know a fly

And his name is Guy

He’s a good little fly and that’s the truth.

— MAREY

August 19, 2016

Dear Marey’s Diary,

My name is Ruby and I’m going to write my poem for the contest.

Its name is Barn.

Big,

Airy,

Roomy

Nest.

I love our barn.

— RUBY

August 20, 2016

Dear Marey’s Diary,

My name is Summer, and this is the best poem in the whole wide world ever ever ever.

It’s called My Grain Bucket.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

Of the grain you hold, before I eat it.

I love thee to the level of

How hungry I am when I eat from you.

I love thee freely, as I run in my pasture.

I love thee purely, as the water in my other bucket.

I love thee with the passion of a very hungry

Pony.

I love thee with a love like I have for my hay.

I will love thee for all of my life, and

I shall but love thee better after supper.

— SUMMER

August 21, 2016

Dear Marey’s Diary,

I’m Goldie, and today it’s my turn for the poetry contest. Marey told me all about Haykoos, so I’m going to write one. They have five sylla-somethings in the first line, seven of them in the second, and five in the last, and the poem has to be about hay.

Once upon a time,

A Welsh Pony named Goldie

Ate a flake of hay.

— GOLDIE

August 21, 2016

Dear Diary,

Well, the poetry contest didn’t turn out very well. We had Buttons judge the entries (Buttons is a very wise pony and knows a lot of things), and she read them all and said that Summer is the winner because her poem sounded the most like a real poem. So now I’m not so sure that Buttons knows so much after all.

Ruby is offended because she is sure her poem should have won. It did take her a long time to figure out how to spell ‘roomy,’ so I feel kind of sorry about all that hard work for nothing. But at least Summer is happy–she says she always knew she was a poet at heart.

Time for bed!

— MAREY

P.S. Next time we have a poetry contest, I’m going to write another Haykoo. I like those best, anyway.

Read more Diary of a Pony:

Diary of a Pony: Show Time!
Diary of a Pony: Summer Babies
Diary of a Pony: Happy Birthday, Marey!

Samantha Johnson is a freelance writer and the author of several books, including The Field Guide to Horses, (Voyageur Press, 2009). She raises Welsh Mountain Ponies in northern Wisconsin and is a certified horse show judge. Follow her on Twitter: @miraclewelsh.