Napoleon's Russia (1812)

Poem by Joseph C Ogbonna

Joseph C Ogbonna’s ‘Napoleon’s Russia (1812)’ asks: Is ambition just a eulogy for the dead? Half a million men. One frozen myth. No way home.

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I kick-started the motherland campaign,
to block trade routes for ebullient Albion.
I intended their resources to drain,
without the swift assault of a legion.

With half a million I sought to subdue
this vast wintry land of Europe's far east.
Its plains shrank in my conqueror's eye view,
whilst my dreams dwarfed it to my subdued list.

With valiant troops I annexed the Kremlin.
For a score and sixteen days I held sway,
until the scorched earth kept my troops at bay,
as Cossacks took their heavy toll with shelling.

My dreaded myth was by attrition tried,
as freezing plains did my army embalm.
I did retreat as my lofty dreams died,
with troops my own ambition did disarm.

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Joseph C Ogbonna is a prolific poet from Nigeria. He is widely published in magazines, anthologies, journals, and online blogs. He is also an Amazon international best-selling co-author. His poems were aired by BBC Radio 3 to mark the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte on May the 5th, 2021. He lives in Enugu, Nigeria.