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At An Old Veteran's Disappointment
Octavian must now be called 'Augustus.'
The Senate offered that title to him.
They want to satisfy his every whim---
cowed, as they are, by his audacity.
The news, when we heard, was enough to bust us
up laughing at the man's incessant pride.
He claims that he must not be criticized
in public venues. We are not surprised.
The moribund republic has now died---
a slow death starting with the suicide
of Cleopatra and Mark Antony.
Changes like this can drive a man to drink.
My neighbors ask me if I really think
the worst of him who takes us to the brink.
And I reply to them, "Do monkeys stink?"
ENVOI:
Rome's majesty is headed for a slump.
Rome's justice has been tossed into a dump.
Rome's moral fibre is a severed stump.
