Plays
Were
Performed
In Republican Rome
At ludi.
That is
– Ludi –
Celebratory
Festivals
Or
Games.
Ludi glorified Gods;
Jupiter [for example]
Or wealthy citizens,
Sometimes
Politicians
Who wanted to
Proclaim
Special occasions:
Funerals
Or triumphal entries
[Don’t ask!]
The Gladiators came out,
Animals were baited,
Acrobats did their thing,
In an eclipse of literary drama.
Fescennine verses
Were staged
– Fescennina carmina –
Italian poetry,
The harbinger of
Satire and
Comic drama [oh yeah!]
Ludi Cereales,
A fertility celebration
Of Spring,
Honours Ceres,
Goddess of the fields,
Goddess of grains.
For eight days only!
Symbolic ritual demands
The release of foxes
With flaming brands
On tails [poor things].
We’ll have
No cruelty
To foxes
Here.
But offer
Milk,
Honey,
Wine,
After you’ve taken them
Thrice
Around the field.
Polly Robinson © 2012
13/04/2012 at 01:18
Neat poem about an interesting era.
Even the preparation sounds fun!
13/04/2012 at 06:33
It happened last night – will post about it later – we had to bring it indoors rather than being around a campfire as originally planned. The weather was so poor all day yesterday we had rain, hail, thunder, beautiful blue skies, talk about unpredictable! And when the sound equipment is borrowed …
Ludi Cereales was great fun, and we raised nearly £200 for the Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign.