THE DEFILE
Unease grips me,
as we enter,
a narrow defile,
great rocks and trees,
steep stony slopes,
ominously close in,
to either side
Late afternoon,
on the third day,
of my journey north,
to join at last,
my betrothed,
serving with
Legio III Gallica
Reclining comfortably,
in the heat of the day,
in my lettica,
my Roman litter,
lined with pillows,
gently swaying,
borne by strong men,
My escort marches,
four abreast,
an entire centuria,
of eighty men
half leading, half following,
arms at the ready,
their duty to protect
Beside me,
young and beautiful,
fair-haired and blue-eyed,
my faithful maid servant,
of barbarian origins,
gently, sensitively combs,
my long dark hair
The defile deepens,
shadows cross,
something ill-defined,
anxiety giving,
crosses my mind,
an involuntary shiver,
danger threatens
The legionnaires,
feel it too,
it shows on their faces,
grim looks, grimaces,
glancing, watchful eyes,
instinctively closing ranks,
alert and muscles flexed
So suddenly it happens
breath taking in its violence,
the air is rent,
by hideous inhuman howls,
barbarians emerge,
from cover above us,
we are under attack
Closing ranks,
protective formation,
around my litter,
brave men all,
pummeled from all sides,
by missiles uncountable,
screams of anger, pain and death
I pull close the curtains,
we hug in desperation,
our litter shakes then falls,
with a lurch and a roll,
it tips on its edge,
we are thrown heavily
to the ground outside
Dazed and shaky,
I look around,
She is sprawled,
alongside me,
seems alright, unhurt
but the men, our protectors,
all slaughtered it seems
They lie in heaps,
barbarians astride them,
greedily stripping their bodies,
of armor and clothes,
cutting the throats of the surviving,
hideous, blood curdling,
screams fill the air
Pulled to my feet,
by iron-strong hands,
she beside me,
we both eye our captors
warily, proudly,
we must be strong,
help will surely come
Ripping of clothing,
they strip us bare,
to struggle is useless,
this fate we must share,
I close my legs vainly,
only to lose the last,
of my garments
Totally naked, exposed,
chest heaving, eyes wide,
the two of us stare,
into the lust-crazed eyes,
of the gathering horde
oh, what is to come!
Humiliation, pain,
violation, defilement
no quarter, no pity
our barbarian captors,
exhaust and satisfy
their hatred and hunger
It’s finally over,
we huddle together,
arm in arm, naked in shame,
their leader approaches,
eyeing us craftily,
no good, I am sure,
can come of this
He glares and grunts,
bellows orders,
men hasten to obey,
a tree is felled,
then another,
brought forward,
branches shorn
Both placed upright,
dug into the earth,
surrounded with,
heaps of naked,
legionnaires’ bodies,
a meaningful glance,
toward the two of us
Two stout poles,
tossed at our feet,
thrown bodily down,
flat on our backs,
arms outstretched,
ropes quickly bind,
wrists in place
Kicking and struggling,
more hands,
to hold us down,
pinned tightly we wait,
nails are produced,
points prick our flesh
hammers are raised
We scream in unison,
buck and twist,
pain so horrific,
then pulled up roughly,
to a sitting position,
pole across shoulders,
breasts hanging and swaying
Dragged backward,
crying and screaming
feet kicking and trashing,
over the bloody corpses,
of our fallen escort
slammed hard against,
the base of our posts
Raised up now,
to the upright posts,
the poles across,
our bare shoulders,
are secured tightly,
we hang stretched out,
helpless, side by side
Hands grab our feet
pushing them high
more nails are produced,
crushing blows delivered,
pinned to our crosses,
backs arched, we struggle
twisting and writhing
I look to her,
see her discomfort,
her gaze fixes on me,
those clear blue eyes,
captivating as always,
stirring my loins,
remembrances of love
Barbarians gathering,
soon to depart,
they know that relief,
will surely come,
Rome never forgets,
best to be gone
But they have left a parting gift,
a grim reminder to the relieving column,
a tableau of horror,
two naked, dying women,
hanging forlornly from crosses,
over a heap of legionary dead
Barbaria, 2014
Unease grips me,
as we enter,
a narrow defile,
great rocks and trees,
steep stony slopes,
ominously close in,
to either side
Late afternoon,
on the third day,
of my journey north,
to join at last,
my betrothed,
serving with
Legio III Gallica
Reclining comfortably,
in the heat of the day,
in my lettica,
my Roman litter,
lined with pillows,
gently swaying,
borne by strong men,
My escort marches,
four abreast,
an entire centuria,
of eighty men
half leading, half following,
arms at the ready,
their duty to protect
Beside me,
young and beautiful,
fair-haired and blue-eyed,
my faithful maid servant,
of barbarian origins,
gently, sensitively combs,
my long dark hair
The defile deepens,
shadows cross,
something ill-defined,
anxiety giving,
crosses my mind,
an involuntary shiver,
danger threatens
The legionnaires,
feel it too,
it shows on their faces,
grim looks, grimaces,
glancing, watchful eyes,
instinctively closing ranks,
alert and muscles flexed
So suddenly it happens
breath taking in its violence,
the air is rent,
by hideous inhuman howls,
barbarians emerge,
from cover above us,
we are under attack
Closing ranks,
protective formation,
around my litter,
brave men all,
pummeled from all sides,
by missiles uncountable,
screams of anger, pain and death
I pull close the curtains,
we hug in desperation,
our litter shakes then falls,
with a lurch and a roll,
it tips on its edge,
we are thrown heavily
to the ground outside
Dazed and shaky,
I look around,
She is sprawled,
alongside me,
seems alright, unhurt
but the men, our protectors,
all slaughtered it seems
They lie in heaps,
barbarians astride them,
greedily stripping their bodies,
of armor and clothes,
cutting the throats of the surviving,
hideous, blood curdling,
screams fill the air
Pulled to my feet,
by iron-strong hands,
she beside me,
we both eye our captors
warily, proudly,
we must be strong,
help will surely come
Ripping of clothing,
they strip us bare,
to struggle is useless,
this fate we must share,
I close my legs vainly,
only to lose the last,
of my garments
Totally naked, exposed,
chest heaving, eyes wide,
the two of us stare,
into the lust-crazed eyes,
of the gathering horde
oh, what is to come!
Humiliation, pain,
violation, defilement
no quarter, no pity
our barbarian captors,
exhaust and satisfy
their hatred and hunger
It’s finally over,
we huddle together,
arm in arm, naked in shame,
their leader approaches,
eyeing us craftily,
no good, I am sure,
can come of this
He glares and grunts,
bellows orders,
men hasten to obey,
a tree is felled,
then another,
brought forward,
branches shorn
Both placed upright,
dug into the earth,
surrounded with,
heaps of naked,
legionnaires’ bodies,
a meaningful glance,
toward the two of us
Two stout poles,
tossed at our feet,
thrown bodily down,
flat on our backs,
arms outstretched,
ropes quickly bind,
wrists in place
Kicking and struggling,
more hands,
to hold us down,
pinned tightly we wait,
nails are produced,
points prick our flesh
hammers are raised
We scream in unison,
buck and twist,
pain so horrific,
then pulled up roughly,
to a sitting position,
pole across shoulders,
breasts hanging and swaying
Dragged backward,
crying and screaming
feet kicking and trashing,
over the bloody corpses,
of our fallen escort
slammed hard against,
the base of our posts
Raised up now,
to the upright posts,
the poles across,
our bare shoulders,
are secured tightly,
we hang stretched out,
helpless, side by side
Hands grab our feet
pushing them high
more nails are produced,
crushing blows delivered,
pinned to our crosses,
backs arched, we struggle
twisting and writhing
I look to her,
see her discomfort,
her gaze fixes on me,
those clear blue eyes,
captivating as always,
stirring my loins,
remembrances of love
Barbarians gathering,
soon to depart,
they know that relief,
will surely come,
Rome never forgets,
best to be gone
But they have left a parting gift,
a grim reminder to the relieving column,
a tableau of horror,
two naked, dying women,
hanging forlornly from crosses,
over a heap of legionary dead
Barbaria, 2014
Last edited:
and a this a long one and not in my native tongue
