ROAD APPLES




CHRISTMAS COOKIES

'Twas the occasion of the cookie exchange party
Six couples get together, hungry, healthy and hearty
Bring six dozen homemade cookies to the affair
Go home with six dozen exchanged if you dare

Knowing that they were, everyone, good horse folk
And being a prankster, it was a good occasion for a joke
The cookies I made and took looked like something they all knew
The corral stuff you step over so it won't get on your shoe

Road Apple specimens is what I put on the lable
And sure 'nuff they looked to be completely able
To fill the bill and live up to their name
The bag they take to the vet for a fecal test looks the same

"Ooh," "ick," "gross" and even worse, if you can believe it
A lot of the guests passed 'em by; they couldn't conceive it
But then some brave soul decided to try a sample
And the bite he took was more than ample

The smile on his face gave everyone a shock
They were expecting at least a squawk
I had 'em all fooled up till then, I reckon
At least, that is, until he went back for seconds

Bourbon balls is what they were when Mom made 'em
All I had to do was slightly squash and dent 'em
Now everyone wants my Road Apple delights
Famous Amos called the other day, wantin' to buy the rights


© 2026 Brian McNeal



───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── 



HORSE APPLES FOR BREAKFAST

Horse apples for breakfast, lunch and dinner
Not too appealing but it'll sure make you thinner
Better'n a roadkill diet when and where you can find it
You know you can't just go to the store and buy it

Middle of the street after a parade if you're quick
Gather 'em up like marshmellows on a stick
Four-legged machines make 'em if you buy the grass
Lots of horsepower and never any gas

Craigslist sellers bag 'em for sale or barter
Organic compost for your garden starter
Meals-ready-to-eat for your canine friends
Since you can't keep 'em out of the horse pens

You don't really have to make like sushi and eat it raw
Cook 'em with horse apple brickettes for the inlaws
Horse apple tea, hot or cold for young and old
Letting it go to waste is like throwing out your gold

Mix 'em with a little rum or burbon whiskey
Rolled up in powdered sugar, they're nifty
Just one horse makes a batch to serve fifty
Put 'em on a doyley on a plate and serve with tea

A vegitarian diet of alfalfa sprouts pelletized 
Goes real well with a side of french fries
Pre-digested fiber for intestinal fortitude
It's pure love to have your food already chewed

Horse apples for the entrée, and the main course
Apple pie for desert, warm, right from the horse
Morning,  noon and night, now to be a contest winner
Just eat horse apples for breakfast, lunch and dinner


© 2025 Brian McNeal



───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── 



SOME THINGS CHANGE AND SOME THINGS DON'T

When my grandad was just a lad, his grandad
Told him about mail carried by Pony Express
He said it cost him a buck but he was glad
'Cause the letter got there in ten days or less

Now the postal service wants to take that same buck
And the same ten days to deliver from coast to coast
They say they're in need of a complete reconstruct
Unlike the Pony Express, ain't nothin' about it worthy of a boast

They're losin' money because they can't keep in step
The music played on while they marched in time
The world changed right around 'em while they failed to prep
Communication is almost free and they still want their rates to climb

Talk about closing the barn door after the horse is out
The USPS is so far behind the times with envisioning
While we're talking to the moon, they wanna shout
About how expensive their operation is for provisioning

It's yesterday's Pony Express mentality that got 'em where they are
It was good enough for grandad's grandad, but
Failure to progress and adapt in time has lost 'em the infowar
Now the horse is out of the barn, and they want the door shut.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usps-stamp-price-increase-95-cents/


© 2026 Brian McNeal



───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────