The Closest Thing to a Puppy

I've been feeling the need to get in touch with child-like happiness, so I just walked to Central Park and befriended a horse named Phalem. It felt so good to touch his face, delicately bent into my hand, until I remembered that this magnificent creature should be running wild on the plains, not chained up to a carriage in a park hoisting around overweight Midwesterners, abiding by its handler because its spirit had been broken by a whip and a stupid human name.

So much for a pick me up.