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The Ides of March


XV

An antique Coliseum arch
frames the scene
of this long forgotten crime

Your toga rising at the shoulder
you lift your arm
muscles tensing

In flagrante delicto
paparazzi snap the shot
your guilt for all to see

The dagger sits between his blades
and Caesar’s lips
gasp one last breath

Reflected in his eyes
the shock of your betrayal
His whispered words
echo down the corridors of centuries
Et tu…
A bubble of blood
emerges on the blue tinged lips
… Brute

His final words
no-one records
but you see them
written out in blood
stains no remover
can ever clear

Mio amico…
He sighs inside his silence
his disappointment
ringing loudly in your ears
clanging on
and on

and on


Written in 2007 but edited more recently

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