The Games of Titus

Here, where a hero fell, a column falls!
Here, a mimic eagle glared in gold
A midnight vigil holds the swarthy bat!
Here, where the dames of Rome their glided hair
Waved to the wind, now wave the reed and thistle!
Here, where on golden throne the monarch lolled
Glides, spectre-like, unto his marble home
Lit by the wan light of the horned moon
The swift and silent lizard of the stone!
(Edgar Allan Poe)
Behold, rayed with stars, the colossus views heaven anear
What race so distant or barbarous might be absent now from here
Rulers of the past brought ailings to the poor
Under, Caesar, your guidance, to itself Rome you restore
And the gods are now appeared
And one hundred days we feast
Diverse is the throng, yet acclaims you as one tongue, the country’s father true
Let the past not boast, for every grandiose ghost the arena brings for you
The dreaded minotaur that a woman bore from her dangerous tryst
Bacchus gained his breath from his mother’s death and so was born a beast
Power on display — the games of Titus
Woe to the foes who would dare to fight us
«In death we salute thee»
Two men fight to kill, and by Caesar’s will glory is split in half
Orpheus unaware is eaten by a bear and the people laugh
An army fights and dies before your very eyes as two ships collide
In a sea of blood, merciless red flood, countless men have died
Power on display — the games of Titus
Woe to the foes who would dare to fight us
«In death we salute thee»
Power on display — the games of Titus
Woe to the foes who would dare to fight us
Behold the Divine, for beasts don’t utter lies
To yield the stronger is valour’s second prize
Heavy is the palm the weaker foeman wins
But now, o Caesar, you’ve come to redeem Rome of its sins