Emperor's Thumb
Amid the savage screams
and blood-curdling shrieks
of the blood-thirsty mob,
the emperor rises in murk
and fug like a foul mood,
glares and gazes down
the bloodied arena below;
there stands swaying, solitary,
a weary, wounded gladiator
in a frozen poise of striking
with his bloody, broken sword
the vanquished at his feet
as the crowd roars louder,
more hysterical and maniacal,
clamoring for that sign
from the bejeweled hand:
thumb up means spare him,
thumb down means kill;
although he always can,
he won't let them down
for he, too, shares their joy;
drunk with grandeur,
he dispenses life or death,
decides who lives or dies,
who should be in or out,
who should be up or down,
ah, prepositional aesthetics,
infantile sense of omnipotence!
Copyright © Romeo Naces | Year Posted 2008
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