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