Nomen est omen?

Was I to be true to my given name^•, I asked,
if horse would nag my every lifetime task?
Would I be bridled with the bit through every lap,
or hold my steed through every handicap?

But horse I soon began to quietly like, you see,
the studs that came undone and played with me,
and found I could not say neigh to that love. And I
just met my destiny with whinny sigh.

^• Philip is "a given name, derived from the Greek Philippos (Φίλιππος)", meaning lover (or friend) of horses.

Placed in the imaginary garden with real toads. (Use your first name in a poem.)

Nomen est omen: the name is a sign ("true to its name").
Photo: Daniel Radcliffe appears in Peter Shaffer’s “Equus”.