The Ides of March

by CD Richards

When leaders think themselves above all reach,
imagining themselves well in control,
then oft we see that fate conspires to teach,
"Beware the folly of a boastful soul."

Imagine at the Theatre of Pompey,
a senate of sicarians crowd round,
and on that murderous and fateful day,
they bring their hapless leader to the ground.

The Ides of March can rich instruction bring,
to never think that we are lords of all.
A life lived humbly is the proper thing,
it's true that pride will come before a fall.

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Image: The Assassination of Julius Caesar, Vincenzo Camuccini (1804).

Today's word: sicarian (n.) an assassin.

Today (March 15) is the Ides of March - a day on the Roman calendar on which several religious observances were held, and also a day for the settling of debts. It is also notorious as the day Julius Caesar was assassinated by some sixty of his closest friends.

My much-treasured Christmas present for 2017 is a book by Paul Anthony Jones: "The cabinet of linguistic curiosities". Each page contains a descriptive story about some obscure or archaic word. It occurred to me it would be a fun exercise to try and write, each day, a poem featuring the "word of the day" from the book.

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Et tu, Brute?

A chapter in the book A Potpourri of Poetic Curiosities

The Ides of March

by CD Richards

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