idesofmarch
At last we have them all well fooled, well tamed;
they use our baths and lard themselves with oil,
truss up their souls and bodies in the toga…
—William Neill (1922–2010), “Despatches Home”
from DESPATCHES HOME (Reprographia, 1972)
A poem for the Ides o fMarch
#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #Roman #RomanBritain #IdesofMarch
"Here you go," the guard said, "in you go with the others."
The door clanged shut behind me. The cell was quite crowded, a quite homogenous group of men looked at me.
How to say it in Latin? "Cur in carcerem es?"
"We are also time travellers," one said in English, "here to warn Caesar."