Lawrence Hall
[email protected]
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
For the Good of the Republic
To the Caesars and their Generals
(But not to the Senate; they have made themselves irrelevant)
Illustris:
You have medals and money and country estates
Book deals and bank accounts and pleasure gardens
You can retire in soft luxury now -
Your military contractors have seen to that
The Rubicon is ruby with your soldiers’ blood
And the Tiber is stopped with the loyal dead
Who fell upon your sword-sharp signatures -
And now you conspire against each other
You have done enough; go home to your musicians
Your receptions, your hunting parties, your…wives
You could pray for the dead
But you won’t
Still,
If you love your nation you will not meet
At the Milvian Bridge
Sep 15, 2021
Sep 15, 2021 at 8:56 AM UTC
Lawrence Hall
[email protected]
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
For the Good of the Republic
To the Caesars and their Generals
(But not to the Senate; they have made themselves irrelevant)
Illustris:
You have medals and money and country estates
Book deals and bank accounts and pleasure gardens
You can retire in soft luxury now -
Your military contractors have seen to that
The Rubicon is ruby with your soldiers’ blood
And the Tiber is stopped with the loyal dead
Who fell upon your sword-sharp signatures -
And now you conspire against each other
You have done enough; go home to your musicians
Your receptions, your hunting parties, your…wives
You could pray for the dead
But you won’t
Still,
If you love your nation you will not meet
At the Milvian Bridge
"A republic, madam, if you can keep it."
-attributed to Benjamin Franklin