Phalanx- formed, tortoiseshell, they stride.
Enamoured by a greater cause. Roman virtue, pride.
Hidden by the shields, a clever measure.
Heads in the shells. No answers to deliver.
Sartorial senators in togas, edged by coloured code,
They voice in pillared rooms by rote; civic votes vetoed.
A charm offensive, if believed, oratory blest
With philosophy and philanthropy, supposed to do its best.
Then viper’s nest, despotic rule, heeding inbred flaws
Seek to serve the selfish first. Lost virtue, Roman cause.
Sweltered in the fiery flames, civilisation burning out.
Repetition, this our way. Results equal, have no doubt.
Where heads are buried, blinded by the bound.
Beware warrior who treads on toes. A weakness found.
scottishmomus 
A cleverly written poem about power and politics. If only leadership came through philanthropic virtue. Oh well, one can dream.
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Or tread on a few toes. 😉 x
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Elegantly done!
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Thank you. 🙂 x
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What brilliant imagery – I love it! And great scathe of the corrupt system too! xxx
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My mind was all over this morning. This sort of popped in. But it all connected for me. 😉 x
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excellent piece, loved it. I have a certain affinity for the tortoise (and love wolves, giant turtles and snails too).
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Thank you. That would be some menagerie if you got it up and running. 😉 x
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also liked the allegory and interesting use of metaphors. ‘despotic’ is a great word to describe the soul suckers that govern, nicely done 🙂
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Some words just say it all don’t they? Must be all those history connotations from school days. Thanks for your lovely words. 🙂 x
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Damn politicians. I see you are in a political mood again. I published about a turtle, too, but in a much different mood than you. LOL
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I wasn’t to start with. Lol. I was thinking about Roman soldiers for some reason…..nope, I don’t know why….then remembered doing a history lesson with kids about the tortoise style protection the legions used. And dots began to connect. You know how it is. I’ll have to check out your turtle. 🙂 x
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I love how you often transcend space and time in your poetry yet find meaning for everyone in each life in today. Amazing.
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Thanks, Kerry. Mind like a peerie, at times. 😉 x
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