Mark Antony and Cleopatra

Dispatched by Mark Antony to fetch his queen
An Egyptian with beauty of world renown
Five-thousand mighty Roman warriors sailed
Committed to driving Egypt’s army down

Cleopatra was basking on a Nile barge
While the fleet remained offshore waiting for night
‘Neath the cloak of darkness warriors arrived
To surprise defenders and battle incite

Fully armored Roman forces held the edge
Razor-sharp swords pierced Egyptians’ tanned skin
Into the gently flowing Nile, Egyptian blood spilled
The desert soldiers’ garb was softer than tin

When heat rose with dawn’s light on the pyramids
Only a few hundred Egyptian soldiers remained
But they fought with the courage of a thousand more
Determined to protect Cleopatra’s reign

Defenders fought with valor; none sought mercy
Just as victory seemed within Rome’s grasp
A bloody trail to the palace had been carved
But Cleopatra lay dead, bitten by an asp

Noble Antony awaited his army
Rejoicing when the first ship came into view
But they’d waged their fiercest fight futilely
Now they mustered to strength to tell Antony too

Warriors’ hearts were filled with compassion
The sign of a truly devoted band
As they offered support for their ruler’s loss
Antony felt the power of each and every man




*But for the fact that Antony and Cleopatra
were lovers, this poem is entirely fictional.
Antony and Cleopatra actually wed and 
Antony moved to Egypt.

Entry for the “Roman Legion” contest

Copyright © | Year Posted 2014



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Date: 7/4/2014 7:40:00 AM
Congrats on a well deserved win my good friend. "Fully armored Roman forces held the edge Razor-sharp swords pierced Egyptians’ tanned skin Into the gently flowing Nile, Egyptian blood spilled The desert soldiers’ garb was softer than tin" Instructive footnote too!
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Date: 7/3/2014 10:03:00 AM
A great choice of story. Always enjoyed reading about Cleopatra and Anthony. Congrats on the win.
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Date: 7/1/2014 7:12:00 AM
Well done Carolyn! I like how you adapted history to your own imagination. Seems like yesterday that I studied "Anthony and Cleopatra"! Congrats on a very merited win. // paul
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Date: 7/1/2014 6:22:00 AM
Congrats on a great win with such a clever write, Carolyn! Hugs.. Arlene
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Date: 6/30/2014 10:38:00 PM
Clever story here! This is one of the poems that grew on me. The funny part about it is that it seems to praise the fighting spirit of the Egyptians more than the Romans, but that is fine since I like them too, and this is a very good poem.
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Date: 6/25/2014 1:41:00 PM
Bravo Bravo Carolyn, may we have an encore Roman write...a sumptuous combination of flesh, stone, blade, bravery, and sacrafice, most excellent! A masterpiece, and of course a FAV. Love how you emphasized compassion, and the battle so very vivid. Amazing how victory sometimes brings tragedy along. J.A.B.
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Date: 6/17/2014 5:14:00 PM
fiction or half truth, this is very well done. ((( happy summer)))
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Date: 6/16/2014 6:44:00 AM
A wonderful poem and also great for the contest. I saw the movie many times. Did you know that the dress she wore in the movie weight 40 pounds? Thanks for sharing... Lucilla
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Date: 6/16/2014 5:26:00 AM
Very well done Carolyn, I thought about entering this contest, but it would have taken fifteen to twenty pages of rhyme. Using fiction to condense it was genius . Good luck in the contest
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Date: 6/16/2014 4:43:00 AM
Way to go for the contest..Creative and passionate..Thanks for the visit to my page..Sara
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