I went, I saw and I conquered
An empire for Rome
But here at home
Those scheming scoundrels
And those senile senators
Good at nothing
But howling in the senate house,
Their last resort,
On comfortable cushioned seats
Where they usually sleep and doze
Or scowl at each other,
Now in servile fearfulness
Have lost their sleep
To plot against me
Employing all their ruses
To rouse the plebeian rabble
Accustomed only to be ruled
Be it by republican rowdies
Or by a Rex.
I have seen them often
Those pettifogging demagogues
The pigmies on a podium
At the monument’s base
In the big meadow or market place
Yelling at the top of their small voice
Against a fictitious foe
Promising a paradise to all the pigs,
Those groundlings roaring and relishing
Any rotten thing that is thrown before them.
I have ignored them always
For these howling humbugs are so small
Much beneath the sweep of my broad sword,
All their heroics are only in rhetorics hollow,
Even in a scuffle not to speak of a fight
They are the first to flee.
But have I ignored them long?
For now I find my friend in their midst
That noble man, the scion of a noble line,
Who sits high in people’s hearts,
Now frustrated fruitlessly trying
To make men of those plebeian pigs
Who always contented lie
Wallowing in their ugly sties.
Have the flatterer’s smooth tongues
Made him believe
Same is their aim—
Not to accuse the stars
Not to be underlings?
My trustful friend, if only you knew
How vile is this villainous lot
Envious of anything great
In their efforts to vilify me
Themselves incapable of any great height
They try to pull down all high things low
They will borrow
Your honourable image
To invest with honour
Their dishonourable deeds.
Oftener than not
The credulous commoner
In his rustic reasoning
Makes the right choice,
But he is always misled
By these mischievous rogues.
He knows
Weakling as he is
He cannot bear his own load
It is better to leave
The ablest man to lead.
Given a choice
Would you choose these pigmies
And reject the colossus
Capable of guarding your gates
From thieves and thugs and marauders?
Think before you drive your dagger home
You opt for a worse tyranny
The small nets of these small men
Do not spare even the smallest fry
While big nets leave them alone
And once I am felled by these fall guys
The centre removed, there’ll be nothing to hold
These hypocrites baring their vicious fangs
Will then rush at each other’s throats
And in that general chaos
You will surely cry
For another Caesar’s rise
To rescue you from the rule of pigs.
-----------------
Author notes
Written May 18th, 2006
A contest entry
- My heart is on my sleeve (but beating in your hand) by Little Lottie.
640 points, ended April 13, 2008, 18 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Inauguration, anyone? by aestival.
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• next poem in this contest, • Add to finalists list, or remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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This was really great. I really love the tone of the whole piece. YOur imagery is so brilliantly vibrant and precise I felt as if I could have been right there in the midst of each scene. I particularly enjoyed your descriptions of the senators in the beginning, I think you captured them perfectly
Good luck in the contest!
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i often find the city of Rome to be both a example of glory..and of ruin..ahh...ceasar..now there's a name that comes across history ...all roads lead to rome..but that was then...
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I liked how you captured the arrogance of Caesar; it was... not a perspective I've seen much, but fun to read. The phrase "pettifogging demagogues" made me laugh, for whatever reason... There were a lot of clever, little turns of phrase in here that I liked, and the overall idea was – well, I don't know if I want to say "good," because I disagree with Caesar's voice, but good in the sense that a poem from his perspective that can be so easily translated to today was good. Nice job.
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I do love this. I love the way you did this. The flow, the word choice, the fact that you called these people pigs... It was brilliant. I loved it quite a lot. Good luck.
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great poem and all
but its not what i am looking for
but hey look on the bright side if this was a contest on leaders you might win
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Democracy is an exception while dictatorship is the rule because most people are power hungry, yet strangely unable to judiciously exercise power when given to them. Otherwise how can you explain a phenomenon like Bush, that too in an advanced society like the USA?
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ok....a certain American president springs to mind.. super cool poem!
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I liked this poem good job
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