Gladiator (Part IX)

GLADIATOR (PART IX)

Tonight I wait in silence
As each tear falls
The disturbing images of the day
Replayed over and over again
In the prison of my mind
Forced to watch her suffer
And I
Totally helpless to protect her
My dearest Serena
All have left me in solitude
Since my broken soul was dragged back here
To the confines of this putrid cell
Not a single voice has spoken

Many hours have now passed
Yet still I know nothing of Serena’s state
Is she even alive?
If she is
Would it be better she be dead?

Though the acts I did not commit
I know I am to blame
I must be
For this ordeal she would have been spared
If for only we had never become close
I lowered my guard
To the love of another
And like so many times before
My weakness
Brought another only pain

The crowd that had given me back
My name
My freedom
And in doing so gained my affections
Now I hold in disgust
How could they revel in the most brutal scene the coliseum has ever seen?
Watch someone innocent of any crime suffer so horribly
And worse of all enjoy it
Cheer it
How could they do this?
And after all had been done
Blaspheme my name in this honour
The name that they had given me back
Am I simply a naive fool
To have expected more from the blood lust of the mob?

All I wanted was to gain my true freedom
Free Serena
Fulfil the dream of eventual happiness
Still it is the nature of man to want blindly
Unaware and uncaring of the consequences
Until it has become too late
For we are men
And all men reach and fall
Now the only dream harboured
Is that of revenge
I make a promise to myself
To Serena
That the Emperor will pay in blood for what he has done

Still tonight I wait in silence
As each tear falls
Hoping to hear news of Serena
That she lives
That she’s cared for
So tomorrow I can lay forth my journey for vengeance
And appease the guilt within
Serena forgive me