Posted in Poems

A Traveller’s Guide to Roma

Posted on by thewesternvoyager

By: Bryan Ricardo Marini Quintana

(Joseph-Désiré Court, The Martyrdom of Saint Agnes in the Roman Forum, 1864)

Where does a Sailor land ashore,

When he has lost sight of his course?

Nowhere else but upon those Western Shores!

He hears Virgil sing of arms and a man, Aeneas from Troia,

Who sailed to Italia, uniting Latins and Trojans,

As Romulus’ Fratricide founded a City for those Romans!

He evokes how Brutus ousted the Last of the Etruscan Kings,

To erect a Republic in the Forum for the Senate and People of Rome,

Where Patricians and Plebeians pledged allegiance as Equal Citizens!

Atop the Aventine, the Triumvirates devise dire designs,

While he savors Cicero’s endlessly eloquent speeches,

Lecturing about the sanctity of the state and its noble laws!

Upon the Palatine, he sees Caesar’s Crossing that Omens Civil War,

In Actium, Octavian decides the fate of Antony and Cleopatra,

Until the Age of Augustus ushers in the Days of the Caesars and the Pax Romana!

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Author:

I’m Bryan Ricardo Marini Quintana, an author enamored with mythological texts, working in Comparative Literature Studies through the scholarly publication “Prophecies of Doom: J.R.R. Tolkien as a Translator of Old Myths into Modern Fantasy.” My background is in Humanities, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing, where I studied the Classical World, Western Art and Culture, Medieval Literature and History, alongside English and Spanish Poetry. Thereafter, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Medieval Icelandic Studies, where I learned Old Icelandic, Old Norse Literature, Viking Age History, and the Archeology of the Middle Ages. My primary experience is as an English Teacher, teaching Grammar, Poetry, and Literature. The Western Voyager is my personal website, offering an educational and artistic platform accessible to everyone who seeks to consult wisdom or wishes to be swept away in an adventure. Here, I publish Poems, Short Stories, Film or Literature Analyses, Book Reviews, and Research Articles. I’m currently completing a Doctoral Thesis in Texts of Classical Antiquity, studying the influence of Virgilian Literature on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Follow on Instagram: @thewesternvoyager Contact via Gmail: thewesternvoyager@gmail.com Subscribe to the Website: TheWesternVoyager