Commentarii Caesaris mortem; Marcus Antonius.

Oh mighty Caesar, the noblest of them all,
To Olympian heights you do reach, to be deified the Gods assure,
You who on Britannica did set foot, Conqueror of the tribes of Gaul,
On winged Victory’s shield you ride, the legions follow from river to shore,
In Mytilene you wore the Civic Crown, in Egypt Cleopatra was in thrall,
Carthage and Corinth were rebuilt by your hand, your Calendar gives order to the land.

Yet, those of mean spirit, the skulks who shrink in your shadow,
Conflate greatness with conceit and seek apotheosis by your downfall,
They gather in the dead of night, silhouettes in the guilty window,
By sputtering candle light, with deadly bile in their gall,
They cannot bear the love for thee, that the Roman people show.

Dear Caesar, listen to me when I say,
The month is March, I must tell you what that means;
do not go to the Senate this day,
the entrails were rotten, the augurs did divine for me.
Not just in coin – debts are repaid in many a different way,
Make the Senate a distant place,
Jupiter will celebrate the Ides with thee!

Why do you walk so blithely by?
The Ides still have light to burn,
Hear the Seer! he tells you so,
bravery and bravado should not be bed fellow,
Pontifex Maximus I know you are,
but your precious innards a knife can still churn,
If not to me, then to Calpurnia your ear turn,
she who shares your heart and pillow.

Watch now Priest of Vesta,
Fear the shadows, for they do murmur,
Beware that false friend by your side, he wears the mask of Janus,
Can you not see through this charade they play?
Am I the only one to demur?
He leads you presently to your fate, the current quickens it is nearly too late,
For Rome’s sake, turn around now, there is but a second before the act of terror!

Look they rush from the shadows, their knives do flash,
The cowards stab you one by one, oh Caesar where is thy sword,
Barbarian hordes you have faced, your weapon has cut and slash,
One by one, their turn they take, defenseless with only but your word,
So die Caesar, the light of the world, betrayed and abandoned like trash.

The street runs with thy blood,
precious drops, your heart beat stops,
A shroud upon your body falls, a dark vale descends upon us all,
Oh evil night, what foul deeds,
the wolf howls a mournful sound,
Romulus and Remus shriek out loud,
Vesuvius rumbles and thunder abounds.

My tears now mingle with your blood, you were the best of us,
Funeral oratory will revive, the love of the people for thy life,
Your name forever shall be known, both on earth and high in Olympus,
Until we meet again dear friend, justice and revenge must be my strife.