I Am a Roman Soldier

I am a Roman soldier.
I choke on the dust and peer ahead.
There are only more soldiers and more marching.
The sun gleams from shields slung over the backs of my comrades
and our swords clank at our sides.
Only three weeks into the Germania campaign
and the Senate still favors the Brutii.
Still, General Augustus favors blood,
and so we march.

I am a Roman soldier and I fight for Rome and for glory.
My javelins tangle and I stop to adjust them.
Their one-use tips were digging in my back.
Feet continue to march past and I smell sweat and dirt.
There are murmurs of conversation
About the last town we sacked.
About the screams and the blood,
and how the Armenians would rather fight
then submit to Roman power.

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poem by Josiah Wedgewood
Added by Poetry Lover
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