Gaius Must Die

I

A

"You too, child," he asks as he gasps his last

Breath, succumbing to twenty-three arrows and slings.

Now, sister, allow me to tell you of a before-Christ past

And I will reveal a history consisting of many things.

Curl up.

It was an official day of swearing in, traditionally,

Not one typically associated with stones of red.

The security detail was rejected radically.

My wife's sister was near me. "Beware the Ides of March," she said.

Stiffen up.

I said, "He knew the elders were the only ones with arms."

She yawns and, taking another drink, asks me, "Is it over yet?"

I explained to her slowly that the first rule of a ruler is to first do no harm.

I told her, "The duty to kill tyrants never leaves regret."

Sister, drink up.

I'm researching and taking at least one note

And she rubs my leg and my face starts burning.

"Two people that hated you were written in for a vote," in my notebook I wrote,

You couldn't tell the tide was turning?

Sam, sober up.

B

In the bar's low lighting, she never seemed so fine;

She brushed my cheek as if to cry--

How I had wished that she were mine--

But for now, Cecilia, Gaius must die.

II

Annie asks overhead would I lie to you

But all I can think about is his brutal betrayal.

In the mirror behind us I can see his portrayal

But for now, Cecilia, it is just us two.

Gaius must die. He has run his race.

A clock ticks and Cecilia changes my mind.

I succumb again to her command,

To her promise, to her once again demand

Until I am no longer the difficult kind.

The man must die and a child take his place.