Today’s horse poetry is another slightly cheeky one written in 1898 by William Ogilvie, a Scottish narrative poet and horse lover.
Fair Girls And Gray Horses
Fair Girls and Gray horses! A toast for you
Who never went divide of a fence or a kiss:
While horses are horses and eyes are blue
There is never a toast in the world like this!
To all Fair Girls! For the sake of one
Whose moonlight blue eyes were awhile my star,
Whose hair had the rich red gold of the Sun
When his kisses fall where the leaf lips are!
To all Fair Girls. How the red wine gleams
To the glass’s rim as it gleamed that night
In the jewelled hand of my Dame of Dreams —
‘O, jewelled fingers so soft and white.’
To all Fair Girls! Turn your glasses down.
There’s “Blissful bridals and long to live!”
And if I am sligliting your eyes of brown,
Of Gipsies Born of the Night, forgive !
To all Gray Horses! Fill up again
For the sake of a gray horse dear to me;
For a foam-fed bit and a snatching rein
And a reaching galloper fast and free!
To all Gray Horses! For one steed’s sake
Who has carried me many a journey tall
In the dawn-mists dun when the magpies wake,
In the starry haze when the night-dews fall!
To all Gray Horses! Now drink you deep,
For red wine ruins no rider’s nerves:
‘Light work and a long, long after-sleep!”
As each gray horse in the world deserves.
Fair Girls and Gray Horses! To each his way,
But golden and gray are the loves to hold;
And if gold tresses must turn to gray
Gray horses need never he tamed into gold!
More Cheek?
I’ve grown a great appreciation for Ogilvie’s smooth poetic style, If you liked this one, you may also enjoy When Horses Are Saddled for Love by William as well. Plus stay tuned for next week and more poetry to come.