"Ave Caesar"



Long ago the Gladiators,
When the call to combat came,
Marching past the massed spectators,
Hailed the Emp'ror with acclaim!
Voices ringing with the fury
Of the strife so soon to be,
Cried, "O Caesar, morituri
salutamus te!"
  
Nowadays the massed spectators
See the unaccustomed sight,
Legislative gladiators
Marching to their last great fight;
Young and old, obscure and famous,
Hand to hand and knee to knee,
Hear the war-cry, "Salutamus
morituri te!"
  
Fight! Nor be the fight suspended
Till the corpses strew the plain.
Ere the grisly strife be ended
Five and thirty must be slain.
Slay and spare not, lest another
Haply may discomfit thee:
Brother now must war with brother,
"Salutamus te!"
  
War-torn vet'ran, skilled debater,
Trickster famed of bridge and road,
Now for each grim gladiator
Gapes Oblivion's drear abode.
Should the last great final jury
Turn their thumbs down, it must be!
"Ave, Caesar, morituri
salutamus te!"
  
  
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on April 18, 2023

47 sec read
11

Quick analysis:

Scheme ababcccC adadxcac efefgcgC ghghcccC
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 910
Words 160
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8

Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, CBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood. more…

All Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton poems | Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton Books

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