Excited citizens rush through archway thirty-three.
They take their seats on marble slabs,
cool to the touch this sweltering summer day.
Lions roar. Giant bear paws rattle cages.
Slaves strain, work a pulley system,
lifting up beasts on stone slabs. Trap doors open.
The crowd gasps, then screams approval.
Eighty thousand men lusting to see lion against tiger,
grizzly bear against bear, or prisoner against beast.
These to-the-death spectacles, the opening acts.
Last bout of the day,
stirs the crowd to mad frenzy.
Two gladiators trained to fight,
slaves by night, warriors by day.
They leave their training complex across the road,
make their way through dark, dank tunnels
connected to the Colosseum.
One a slave with wealthy master,
fights to earn his freedom, bout by bout.
The other slave, a wealthy man’s business investment,
simply tries to stay alive.
Entering the arena, they pause, adjust to glaring sun.
The adjudicator signals and the battle begins.
When deep wounds pore blood and exhaustion sets in,
one man is declared a winner. Both barely alive,
they are carted off the field as the crowd roars its approval.
Back across the road, medical treatment given,
they collapse in their cells.
Crowds file out of the Colosseum.
A day’s respite with excellent entertainment.
Who can ask for anything more?
Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe, where it was Open Link Night on Thursday, August 24. I’m a day late posting. BUT, it’s also Open Link Night LIVE, coming up on Saturday, August 26th from 10 to 11 AM EST. Hope you can join us! You’ll find the link to on the dVerse home page, HERE!
We already had OLN LIVE on Thursday and had folks from Sweden, the UK, Jerusalem, Pakistan, Michigan, Iowa, Vermont, New Jersey; Portland, Oregon, Missouri, Washington, and Trinidad Tobago reading a poem of theirs aloud, and chatting with each other. We’re a friendly and appreciative bunch! So do join us on Saturday if you can!
Yes, these are PHOTOS from July when we were on our month-long trip. First stop was Rome and its antiquities. We had a day’s tour with an archeologist which began with an extensive visit to the Colosseum. Everything I’ve written about here is what it was like back in the day! And yes, you can still see the original XXXIII on the archway where folks who had seats in this area entered. The photo bottom left shows part of the floor rebuilt, and you can see the circular shape with the tiers of seats. Photo bottom right shows the partitioned off “rooms” or “cells” where the animals were kept. And yes, there were trap doors in the floor and animals were raised up to suddenly appear on the colosseum floor. It turns out that animal to animal fights were always to the death of at least one animal. Animal to prisoner would most likely end in death to the prisoner. But the real gladiators, unlike in the movies, who fought here, never fought to the death. There was an adjudicator who called the contest and named a winner. The gladiators were actually slaves and had a “school” literally across the road from the colosseum where they trained by day and were locked in their cells by night. As slaves, they were a business investment, owned by wealthy people. When you learn that, you understand why they didn’t fight to the death. Some slaves had the opportunity to earn their freedome by winning X number of battles. Sometimes they managed to do that, but not often. An incredible place to see. Construction on the Colosseum, the largest amphitheater ever built, began in 72AD and was completed in 80 AD. It held 50 to 80,000 people. And there was indeed a “gladiator school” across the road. There was daily entertainment here, provided to the citizens free of charge, and sponsored by the Emperor.
lillian the home poet 
Great imagery. I can picture everything you describe in your poem. The final line is a zinger‼️
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Thank you so much!
It was wonderful to hear you read your poem today – I so enjoyed reading it to hear it aloud was an extra treat!
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You’re welcome! I am glad you enjoyed it!❤️🙏🏼
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So interesting, your poem is such a great story. I always thought they fought to the death. Although it seems they nearly did.
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Yes, the movies about gladiators always have them fighting to the death. Our archeologist guide said specifically “unlike the movies portray….”
Glad you enjoyed the poem. It was amazing to see this place!
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Ouch… this was really strong, I had seen documentaries about Coluseum and seen some of this.
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Glad you enjoyed. REALLY enjoyed hearing you read aloud this morning. Quite a group and lots of fun!
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Thank you for sharing with us this morning, listening as you read, made the poem come to life. The photos are outstanding, Lillian. 85 AD, almost impossible to comprehend.
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For me, it was most amazing to see Arch XXXIII and realize it’s real, still standing, and you can still read the XXXIII!
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Your poem took me back to my visit to Rome. I loved my tour of the Colosseum and we had the best tour guide, who brought it all to life – as did your poem, Lill!
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Thanks, Kim. Glad you enjoyed.
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You’ve imagine the past well here, Lillian! And thank you for sharing all the historical details! I was there some years ago and I knew about the slaves kept underground but I didn’t know they had all the animal fights you describe – fascinating!
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Glad you enjoyed. It’s an amazing place to see, right?
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Most certainly!
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Sorry for the delay in commenting, Lillian. I enjoyed hearing you read this. It’s a very vivid description, and I can imagine the scene.
I agree the Coliseum is fascinating. I was there twice, once with each child on trips with their Latin teacher.
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…and a late thank you to you for your comment here. Isn’t dVerse just wonderful? I feel so blessed that Bjorn invited me to join so many years ago. Truly, friendships are forged across this cyber space 🙂
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You’re welcome!😊
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