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| Napoleon Crossing the Alps on Marengo |
Napoleon Rode a Grey Stallion Called Marengo*
Grey horses are magical and also not, think thoroughbreds
how many times have you put money on Silver Shadow and not collected?
Pegasus was grey - he could flap his wings and fly as well as gallop
spying a grey horse in a field brings good luck
(so does a breeching whale looking you in the eye)
many a possessed storybook child has taken flight on a mystery grey horse
appearing in an apparition beyond the rose garden’s picket fence
sixth senses aligning follow me mount me
effortlessly under the willow tree
ride me bareback to heaven clutching my flowing mane
the first pony I called my own was a grey mare named Wendy
I was eight, she was 14.2 hands high, almost a horse
Napoleon’s grey Arab stallion, Marengo, was 14.2
apparently, he rode like a butcher
slouched with his toes lower than his heels
slipping around on the saddle so much he wore holes in his breeches
He rode for pleasure as well as necessity
I’ve seen Napoleon’s bed in Versailles
he was really short for a guy who ate so much chicken
there’s no mention of war horse Marengo on the Imperial stable records
a mystery in itself and many oil paintings
but I guess if a grey horse finds you in Egypt, ride it
ride it like a butcher to battle and back
to Joséphine and Chicken Marengo
only three percent of horses are grey
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