As mentioned in an earlier post, I've been working on a collection of poems about ancient Rome, and I want to share them here to showcase my progression. These poems are geared towards a younger audience, like storybooks or vocabulary books. I'm taking Roman myths and true stories and turning them into fun and accessible texts for kids. In this post, I'll be sharing the second poem in the series, so let's dive in and explore the story of Horatius Cocles together.
This is the second post of this type; I will include a link to the first at the bottom of the page.
Now the poem...
***
This the Bridge of Hero's
2022
Once upon a time there was a Kingdom called Rome.
It was a place anyone could come and make friends and call home.
The King there was kindly, wise and sage,
The only trouble was in his old age.
Then one day the good old king did die,
and his son ‘Lucius’ became king, and he was not a good guy.
He stole from the people, and he forbid fun in the city.
He took all the bread, so all the food became gritty.
The people were mad, and they soon revolted.
The King was sent away from land and insulted.
The people of Rome decided that all kings were bad,
except for the good old last king - who was the bad king’s dad.
Instead of a king the Romans had a nice plan,
and so after that the Roman Republic began.
They built new buildings, and places for 'fun'.
They even built a bridge over where the river Tiber did run.
However, old King Luscious was not yet defeated,
He soon returned to the city in war to get himself reseated.
The people were scared, and they tried to prepare.
They did not want to go back to when things were unfair.
One man did stand up and he was bravely voracious,
“Come fight with me, I am warrior Horatius!”
Horatius spoke up and inspired all Romans,
he told them you sometimes must fight for your home-lands.
So the Roman’s gathered outside near the new river bridge,
while the enemy army waited on the other side of the ridge.
Horatius alone charged onto the bridge center,
he dared the king's army to best him and enter.
The enemies came down to the bridge one by one,
the Romans were ready and so the battle begun.
Many arrows rained down, the swords of armies met and rang;
Horatius held the bridge all by himself while he sang.
King Lucius was furious and in dismay,
how dare the Romans fight back against a King in this way!
Horatius called out to Lucious, feeling empowered
“come fight me yourself you big kingly-coward!”
King Lucious felt his pride being wounded,
the route to 'his' throne was being intruded.
In a surprising and reckless display,
king Luscious went and entered the fray.
When the two men first met they stood over the river,
Horatius gave a last order and then blow to deliver.
The Romans behind him cut the new bridge down,
both wearing thick armor the two men did drown.
But the battle was over, and the city was saved,
the enemy surrendered, as their commanders caved.
The people were sad that their hero was lost,
but they would never forget what their freedom had cost.
So never forget Horatius, the one man that came.
We get the term hero, from that man’s good name.
***
The story of Horatius is much more complicated than this poem implies there is a lot of horrible things that happened that I did not feel required a mention for the message I was trying to convey, to get across. Notably there is a woman named "Lucretia" who is brutally raped, and that crime is the first domino that colors the subsequent events that take place in the story. I wanted to focus on Horatius, who gives his life for the eternal city. He was truly a mythical figure, but most historians consider this a mostly true story due to the many different places it is referenced in Roman literature. Even this clarifying tidbit is grossly oversimplifying the story.
If you need additional information about this story look here:
'Horatius at the Bridge' by Thomas Babington Macaulay (thoughtco.com)
If you want to see my earlier post and the complete catalogue of poems look here:
Roman Nursery Rhymes: The Wolf Mother (bpe-c.blogspot.com)
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