Best Rome Poems
My dearest Claudia,
For eighteen months, I've been at this Jerusalem outpost.
"Tis you and young Julius that I miss the most.
This wasn't the adventure I set out to seek-
At least, not until this past week'
A local rabbi rode a donkey into town,
While people were throwing palm branches down.
Many proclaimed Him to be their "King."
The Jewish leaders vehemently denied such a thing'
They arrested Him and a riot ensued;
My squad was called in to get the masses subdued.
Back and forth, they sent Him- through several mock trials.
The prisoner maintained His silence all the while.
"He's a traitor to Rome," the priest and leaders cried.
And the crowd wanted Him crucified'
A "Royal robe" they made Him wear
Then His own cross He was forced to bear.
With a thorny crown jammed down upon His head,
It was off to Golgotha He was led.
Lifted up between two thieves,
The day turned black and I wanted to leave'
Then I heard my Centurion say something very odd:
"Truly this is the Son of God'"
Buried in a borrowed grave- as if in a womb-
I and my men guarded that tomb.
Then some time during the middle of the night,
The rock was rolled back 'midst a blinding light'
In the morning some woman came to that "prison,"
But two beings inside said "He has Risen'"
This week's events have so drastically changed my life.
That I was compelled to tell you of them, my beloved wife.
Your Husband Octavius
Arthur Ball (h.S.L.P.)
April 16, 2006
Musee
See where it burns in Titian's brush
subsides along the cool Aegean stone,
or twists in the fist-faces of Rome,
our only mystery--flesh.
There, uncertainty ends, or does it merely pause?
The surgeon's knife reveals a shadow
no surface contains, our laws
are not what we do or vow.
Yet surface is all, and scars--
the scuttled pains that heal.
Observe how memory collects in flaws
placed where they are most real.
Or how, as flowers, the persistent leaf
bears the color of its grief.
How are things in Rome, my love, the Rome we knew so long ago?
Do the crystal waters in the Fountain of Trevi still gently flow?
Does the coin we tossed in there yet shine? I'd really like to know,
Or like the love of our feckless youth, has it lost its glow?
I was a lonely soldier boy far from home and she was lonely too.
When I saw her across the crowded room, my heart skipped a beat or two!
'Tis said that a woman loves a man in uniform but I'm not sure that's so!
I felt it much more than that as in her eyes I saw a special glow!
I have fond memories of our dinners sipping Chianti with speghetta,
And the thrilling rides along the Tiber on our trusty old Lambretta!
The moon shone on just the two of us as we held each other tight,
Pledging our eternal love with a tender kiss on that very special night!
Alas, time moved on inexorably as it will and I returned to fighting war.
'Tis said that tossing a coin in Trevi ensures your return to Rome once more!
But it was not to be. I can only cherish sweet memories in my heart!
I sadly muse, "How are things in Rome, my love, since we've been apart?"
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
(PS: I hasten to add that this is a fictional write otherwise I'd be in deep and
serious trouble with my wife!!!!!)
All Roads lead to Rome
There is a well known saying
That all roads lead to Rome
But I don't take it literally
Because my road leads me home
passion and grapes
elixir of lots
life mingled
with venom
power and youth
brush fire fingers
flickering
burning
yearning
caesarean coins
weigh down the neck
of the divine
so called
basket of snakes
Kim Rodrigues © 2017
When all roads lead to Rome,
It is hard to get home.
When all roads lead to Rome,
We become accident prone.
When all roads lead to Rome,
Our minds are no longer free to roam.
There was once an old lady in Rome
Who never talked on a phone
She preferred to write letters
And that to her never matters
That she was living alone
She wanted a great big brand new house, among brand new other things,
and just to marry and be my spouse, she wanted great big diamond rings,
So I knew what she was about, when she wanted so much bling,
it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, money was her thing.....
But you can't squeeze blood from a turnip, my ol' daddy use to say,
don't build bridges that burn up son, you'll need them again someday,
You're never too old to keep learnin', work hard to pay your way,
Keep a job and keep on earnin' son, ya know, Rome wasn't built in a day...
Well, she just wasn't the one for me, so she went on down the road,
and as far as I could see, she could carry her own dang load,
Yes, I'm so glad she's free, and she left my humble abode,
because she inspired this song to be, another one seeking gold,
But you can't squeeze blood from a turnip, my ol' daddy use to say,
don't build bridges that burn up son, you'll need them again someday,
You're never too old to keep learnin', work hard to pay your way,
Keep a job and keep on earnin' son, ya know, Rome wasn't built in a day.
On CD from Nashville...call 502-290-7524...if no answer...please leave message..thanks!
There once was a man from Rome
who's head was shinny like chrome
gave the world spiritual hope
was given the title of Pope
now he wears a hat like that of a gnome
The legion march quickly north,
armed with glaudius , pila, and, scutum.
Prefect Claudius Flavius was in command of the First Cohort.
Vanguard in the lead, flankers to the sides, rear guard looking behind.
They marched steady and strong under a blazing hot sun.
Each man weighed down with 60 pounds of armor, weapons, shield and rations.
They did not falter,
and they did not stop for water.
Such is the discipline of the legions of Rome.
At the end of the day they made their camp.
That night the equites legionis scouts found the enemy.
and the battle was planned.
The legion was up before dawn and prepared for battle.
The First Cohort, four hundred eighty men in all, marched to the battle site ahead of the others, and formed four maniples.
When the rest of the legion was formed,
Flavius commanded the First to move forward toward the screaming enemy.
They did not falter,
and they marched in good order.
Such is the discipline of the legions of Rome.
At the command of, " Iacere pila". they hurled their spears at the enemy shields.
At the command of, " Contendire vesta sponte" they drew their glaudii and engaged,
attacking the left flank of the enemy formation.
Armor and spears, swords and shields met in a horrible clash.
The centurii and optio shouted orders above the blare of the bugles.
Pilae were hurled.
Scuta banged against scuta.
soliders pushed, shoved, yelled and cursed.
Glaudii thrust forward in unrelenting, grim determination.
They did not falter,
and they gave no quarter.
Such is the discipline of the legions of Rome.
In the end the enemy line unraveled, and those who were left ran for their lives.
The equites chased them down.
The battle was hard fought.
The list of the slain was long,
and the lesson the legion sent was clear.
Those of the enemy that got way brought this message home.
The Roman legions are strong and disciplined.
They do not falter,
and they give no quarter.
Do not test the power of Rome.
Have you had a dinner overlooking Rome?
A quiet, garden setting, where you two are alone?
Darkened bushes, candlelit table, with tiny lights all aglow,
romanticize the setting, as we all know.
Start with a glass of a fine red wine,
aged just right, and sweet as the vine.
A little Antipasto is what I certainly would say,
Cheeses, Salami, Pepperoni, and Flatbreads all go a long way.
A Caesar Salad prepared at your table side and done,
by a young Brazzi look alike, with a certainty of perfection.
The glass of a fine white wine will next set the pace,
changing the evening, while staying in place.
The Entree ordered is a delicious Piece of Sole,
large enough to share, baked to its flaky goodness in whole.
Asparagus Spears, Broccoli, or Italian Beans simmered with soy,
could all be accepted as Side Dishes with our fish to enjoy.
Tiramisu for her, Creme Brule' for me with its golden crown,
with an Ice Wine to wash these tasty Desserts down.
Then a Latte or Cappuccino might just do,
with some Creme Sherry to finish the mood.
A short romantic walk to the Trevi 'neath Rome's idyllic moon,
means that our dinner has ended all too soon.
Our "Special Evening" however, is only done,
When we later make love to each other...uniting as one.
written: 10/25/15
Goodnight to our Rome with all your garrisons
and your streets that have become
as loveless as empty barracks.
For you I will never weep.
After all,
your Senators
Who made the deals
To keep the last
Last
And the first bored
and lost in ennui,
govern the burning ruins
of the human city which evicted the cobbler
and used the electorate as a weapon
With unforgiving recoil
Which guarantees
that
the bottom will stay at the bottom
and dance to the music of the
midnight carousel.
2
Now that the middleman has been cast
To the prairie grass
With his own middle cut away
His fate was decided over lunch
The legal apparatus has fallen from its hinge
Leaving only the greatest felony
Unnamed.
And who are our neighbors
When we’re sentenced to the
Four year winter hotel?
Will they be the nameless ghosts
Evicted from their bodies by those
Who are afforded the right to escape the tombs
With kept wives in cheap furs
And Upper eastside penthouses.
And in all those apartments
All the beautiful people
Wash down oxycodone with fine wine
While bitching about the junkie below.
“Send the cops to clean up the drug
Problem,” they cry.
“All addictions should come with a ‘scrip.”
It takes a truly trained country
with few alternatives
to put a knife to its own throat
or hand it over
to an orange buffoon
with a poor hair cut
in a loveless room.
He always
lines up his bets
on what con will turn the American heart
into just another dead
theater
where it was all the show of shows.
And when the decision is made
The worst one is chosen.
The decision has certainly been made.
For what other country
Choses a landlord so crooked
All self-respecting cons
Walk past him
Never stopping at all
For fear he will pick their pockets clean
For he is the biggest con of all,
Who now has to do a sometimes honest man’s job.
Those he loved the least
Ignored all the papers
Who for once
Didn’t celebrate
The game of chance
But cried out
With the urgency of a siren
During an air raid
to pick the other.
While he spoke as one of the mob
His heart was that of a landlord
Looking to evict
All his useful idiots
From their lots.
For now he can expect nothing in the end
But to stand on the stairs
Or escalator
When all your Senators approach
smiling
with drawn knives.
“Et tu Sessions?”
Ahh, as you seat there under the twilight of the night, who would have known you were my destiny. For now, you are the means of me beneath Orion, Earth, and sea. The sages of Rome and the Gods of the Greeks; Athena, Heroine of Venus pay homage to the love shared between us. All shall add our names to songs of their history.
I yearn to become a part of you down to the very core of your being. My place is with you and to be always in your grace. I whisper your name in the secret crypt of my covenant; that no other man alive can witness your worth to me. For you are for me… and me alone.
Whenever I hold you in my arms, I control all time and space. Whenever I look into your eyes, I stand face to face with the immortals… all those in Heaven. Your eyes, your lips, your touch on my flesh, the smell of your skin Ahhhh…The taste of you, the breath of you, I …
Exhaling to release the passion of my love for you, I yield momentary rest. Gathering my thoughts, I silence the ego of my vanity of knowing it is I who wash my soul in the waters of your natural spring and is revived; I who eat the fruit of your garden and bear the strength of 10.
I chuckle at the mere mortals that walk the earth as men. With you, by my side, I am the royalty on which Nobles stand. I am the might of Hercules and the power of Zeus. By the roar of the greatness of the lion “The King” ... I hold immense pride in bringing you to heights of mountains, to the falls of its waters, and the pleasures of its wonders. You’ve captured me with the force of tornado winds, and on your wings, I am carried still.
07-05-19
Written for a contest. Placed as N/A. Not sure why.. As a woman, I have witnessed men dominate, rule, and conquer for the love of a woman. This is what I believe went through their minds. As per history..per-sae.
socratese,plato
philosopher's of ancients
pre-religious ruse
In battles hymn, raise your shield,
Sharpen metals sword.
All hail bow low unto Rome,
Be blinded by opulence's glitter,
And greed’s excess
Salves feel her golden sandles,
Upon bare skins flesh.
Shackles hand cuffs, bind generations,
Under whips task masters.
Architectural thieves, swallowing,
Cultures as the serpent gorging itself.
On it's twisted belly the beast,
Encircles it's prey.
At blades sharp edged point, the innocent
Lie slain,
In histories dust humanity bleeds.
Crimson skies light Cesar's horizon,
As thousands gather in the Colosseum.
The gladiator stands alone, facing madness's
Throne
Awaiting death's final release from bondage.
A simple thumbs motion,
Down meaning liberation,
Up for another soul taken.
Behold blood sports ultimate challenge,
To live or die by strength and valor.
Fates twisted sense of humor,
Laughs at him behind justice's,
Blackened curtain.
Mocking the crowds lustful,
Calls of encouragements.
Sacrifices altar burns brightly,
Upon the false Gods alabaster statue.
Patiently waiting veracity’s venom,
Ambitions royal descriptors feasting,
At harvests festive table.
The warrior faces reflections honored soul,
And behind them destiny's predator stalks,
Those soon to fall it's victim.
To a coiled cobra poised to strike,
Decadence audience claimers at fevers pitch,
Adrenaline rush, excelling the
Combatants deadliest game.
Immoralities remembrances,
Or defeats cowardly shame.
Devastation final reckoning
To the victor goes spoils waste,
For the dead remains emptiness.
Champions hero kneels before,
The emperor's mighty power.
An evergreen crown of laurel leaves,
His treasures only gift.
Freedoms mercy to live another day,
Beyond the arenas iron gates.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN