I grew up in the rural town of Lander, Wyoming, where the countryside hums with wildlife. My hometown is surrounded by forests, rivers, canyons, the high desert plains, and the Wind River mountain range of the Rocky Mountains. These mountains reach from the foothills at 5,358 ft to the peaks at 13,000 ft in elevation–3 miles above sea level!

Being the spirited, free-roaming animals they are, mustangs live in the spacious sagebrush meadows, alongside the rattlesnakes, ticks, and prickly pear. My dad, an elementary art teacher, painted them, and told us stories about their whereabouts, sensationalizing their existence.

Once in a while, we witnessed the wild horses first-hand. They were beasts! Their body hair was long and wooly, allowing them to outlast the sub-freezing temperatures. Their speed and strength is unmatched, in my imagination. Even the quickest antelope and a mightiest grizzly would find a fierce challenger in a mustang.

In the 15 years when I lived in Wyoming, I was a wild one too. There, I could spend entire weeks without wearing a shirt. I grew my hair long. I celebrated the outdoors, and prided myself on the near-death experiences I faced in the rugged the wilderness. My dad modeled this freedom and fearlessness for my younger brother and I.

Looking back on my life, I see the mustang I used to be–in my youth, when I lived in Wyoming. I'm more of a workhorse now, being a family man and a provider. Sometimes I act like a donkey, struggling to maintain my sense of firmness, through the unsteadiness, the imbalance, the shaking. But I aspire to remember the child inside–the mustang–and return once again to that wilder side of myself.

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“Mustang Again”

The Song

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The Lyrics

Mustangs must stay
In Wyoming
Out in the wild country space

When we wild horses
Leave the mountains
We rarely return the same

I was a mustang until
I left Wyoming
Just to become a workhorse
Just to work like a donkey
I must be a mustang again

Cowboys and cow men
Saddle us down
Hammer nails into our hooves

Cowgirls cow women
Fence us in
And tell us where to go

I was a mustang until
I left Wyoming...

Broncos bet busted
Stallions get broken
Branded with hot iron
Braided like show ponies
Ridden in polo games
Horse races and rodeos

I was a mustang once

I was a mustang until
I left Wyoming
Just to become a workhorse
Just to work like a donkey
I must be a mustang again

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The Acknowledgements

I'm grateful to @luzcypher and @pfunk for bringing us the #openmic community challenge, week after week. This event lights me up. I appreciate this invitation to express myself creatively. And I honor the community-wide celebration of the arts. I feel encouraged by the growth I see in the people who participate in these events, including myself. Thanks to all of you for accepting me as a member of your tribe.

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This post contains 100% original content by @cabelindsay.