Wednesday, September 15, 2021

An Address to the Several Caesars and their Generals - poem

 

Lawrence Hall

Mhall46184@aol.com 

https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/

poeticdrivel.blogspot.com

 

For the Good of the Republic

 

To the Caesars and their Generals

(But not to the Senate; they have made themselves irrelevant)

 

Illustris:

 

You have medals and money and country estates

Book deals and bank accounts and pleasure gardens

You can retire in soft luxury now -

Your military contractors have seen to that

 

The Rubicon is ruby with your soldiers’ blood

And the Tiber is stopped with the loyal dead

Who fell upon your sword-sharp signatures -

And now you conspire against each other

 

You have done enough; go home to your musicians

Your receptions, your hunting parties, your…wives

You could pray for the dead

But you won’t

 

Still,

 

If you love your nation you will not meet

At the Milvian Bridge

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