Father of Rome

A Poem by Gaia Octavia

He was the first of many,
far from plebeian,
with eyes matching color and
depth of The Aegean

Curled locks poised
above a stern Patrician nose,
with man-given name
the distant future knows

In sickly boyhood
he was saddled alone
with the unthinkable fate
to become Father of Rome

He gambled it all
and chose his friends well,
outsmarting the senate
while ensuring Antony fell

No queen of Egypt tempted,
he wed a proper Roman wife,
avoiding the pitfalls that
ended Granduncle's life

Underestimated by many
and understood by few,
he lived behind a mask
while his power only grew

He lived to ripe old age
until, at last, his lover
showed herself as nothing more
than a cruel, ambitious mother

Still, he's not forgotten
even now his name persists
in our calendar and minds
where he always will exist

Augustus Caesar:
Emperor of Rome,
who through skill and mind,
made the whole world his home