Roman Nursery Rhymes: The Wolf Mother & The Poem Catalog

As a writer of mostly lengthy, substantive texts, I occasionally take joy in creating short poems echoing with historical events or profound themes. My ambition is to replace meaningless nursery rhymes from my youth, which still occupy precious mind-space, with these enlightening miniatures.

Think of the empty nursery rhymes ingrained in our memories: "To Grandmother's house we go," "Ring around the Rosey," "Ba Ba Black Sheep "and so on. Rather than these mindless verses, I long for the ability to recall content that offers fresh insights into the world and its deep mysteries. However, my upbringing's persistent mental imprints limit this possibility.

But this regret has sparked my drive to generate my own poetry, a rich empty canvas ready to reflect significant themes and ideas. With this in mind I have written a few poems and such on Roman history, a subject of which I am most passionate about. 

(I'd like to clarify that my motivation primarily stems from the sheer joy of creative expression, not a real deep-seated disdain for nursery rhymes. I fully acknowledge their historical significance, and my endeavor is simply a playful exploration.)

Now for the Poems... 

***

The Wolf Mother
2021

Once upon a time there was a wolf who lived in the forest,

she had two little pups named Lupus and Loriest.

In the cold nights they huddled for warmth together,

and they slept soundly no matter the weather.

She fed them and raised them with love and affection,

but one day a hunter came for their collection. 

The nights became cold, and the wolf laid quite still,

without love's warmth she feared she might soon become ill.

While morning her pups the wolf howled and cried,

but while drying her tears the wolf mother spied…

Two baby humans close to her den, 

if she could not raise her own pups, might these two fit in?

So she gathered the babies and took them in as her own,

The wolf mother helped them to feel the warmth of the ‘foehn’.

The wolf poured her heart out for the two.

As babies grew older she knew what to do.

She taught them to hunt to hide and be cautious,

no matter how boring or bland or monotonous.

Romulus spoke first and his was a bellowing roar,

Remeus, the other, would run for the door.

The sons love of their mother was soon devote,

and when the hunter retuned, he was finally smote.

The Wolf mom was proud and fearfully protective,

but when more humans came looking, she changed her perspective.

Her boys must reluctantly learn human ways,

the way of their kind and how to behave.

She guided the two, to an old Shepard’s home,

never knowing her boys would be the ones to found Rome.

***

Clearly, this poem revisits the legendary tale of Romulus and Remus, only it's uniquely narrated from the perspective of the she-wolf that raises them. In this rendition, I've chosen to focus more on the novel concept of a wolf nurturing human infants rather than the later fraternal conflict of the bothers or the reality of the event itself.


Roman Poem Catalog
Below is the list of all the poems I have made linked in historical order for your convenance. 

Roman Nursery Rhymes: The Wolf Mother (bpe-c.blogspot.com) (This is that page)

Roman Nursery Rhymes: This Bridge of Hero's (bpe-c.blogspot.com)
Roman Nursery Rhymes: The Reluctant Dictator, Hannibal's Animals & Cato's Fury (bpe-c.blogspot.com)