"a horse did whinny..."*

at the grand portal doors to the barracks of the Garde Républicaine on Boulevard Henri IV hang a pair of enormous lanternes... sometimes when I walk by, the doors are open and I can glimpse one or two horses being exercised around the grounds... sometimes I just hear them whinnying from within, and I hear again this song that I have heard so many times within my own home...

"a horse did whinny in the afternoon - he had no pity for the old buffoon...
a horse did whinny in the pale sunlight - he had no eyes, he had no insight...
a horse did whinny, or so I was told - he had nothing else to befoal...
a horse did whinny and that's a fact - he had nothing at all to give back...
a horse did whinny, but who cares...
a horse did whinny through the air...
a horse did whinny in the middle of the day...
a horse did whinny as if to say...
go away...go away...go away.........go away..."*

[*lyrics from "a horse did whinny" by my son Enzio (copyrighted 2008), as performed by his very cool band "Half-Chinese"]