Vae Victis

The Romans have invaded us again, — That decadent nation, with the melancholy Under the ostentation and the bronze, Misgivers, dressed in attitudes of scorn, Corrupted by their own imposing folly, The bands and banners, cruelty and games, Victorious over green batallions, Summer's luxurious easy army slain.

They line our highways, confiscate our corn, Possess our fields and set our woods in flames. Each year they come, each year they flash and shine, Proud in imperial purple, orange, gold, Maroon, magenta, madder, carmine, wine, Vermilion, umber; arrogant and bold.

Each year, some morning finds them driven forth In panic by a rumor from the north, Their camps forsaken, flying for their lives Before the keen barbarians, armed with knives, The fierce and terrible Scythians, whose breath Sets in the crimson vein the blue of death.

Alarm, alarm! The fires burn black by dawn, The wavering legions vanish and are gone, Leaving no monument, no trace to mark The mutinous disorder in the dark Except the hue of blood, the deep red stain Where some courageous officer was slain, Or, it may be, a cloak of scarlet, found Under a maple, on the frozen ground.