the Ides of March

by pome lover

A tough Roman ruler named Caesar
Whose great power became a non-pleaser,
Was, in truth, unaware
That his senators would dare
Take away his time as an old geezer.

But a few of his senators plotted,
For those guys were no longer besotted
With Caesar, and t’was they,
Not an et tu Bruté,
Who K-nifed him right in his carotid.

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Dueling Limericks - Ides of March! writing prompt entry

Writing Prompt
That's right, folks! March 15th [Beware the Ides of March!] is the day of reckoning made famous by William Shakespeare! Historically, it marked the first full moon (Id) of a new year in the Roman Republic. Ironically, it was Julius Caesar that reformed the Roman calendar and moved March to its '3rd Month' status. Of course, it was Julius Caesar who was murdered on the Ides of March two years after his still-utilized Julian Calendar.

In honor of this looming ominous occasion, this contest is:

a pair of limericks, one from each of two entities: one that has nefarious thoughts regarding someone in their lives and one that has no knowledge of or inkling that the one (or others) would like to see them GONE!

Remember, a limerick is a form of verse, usually humorous and frequently rude, in five-line, predominantly anapestic meter with a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA, in which the first, second and fifth line rhyme, while the third and fourth lines are shorter and share a different rhyme. Also, lines 1,2 and 5 should have 7 - 10 syllables and lines 3 and 4 should have 5 - 7 syllables (see example below).

The form was popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th Century. Here is one of his many limericks:

There was a Young Person of Smyrna
Whose grandmother threatened to burn her.
But she seized on the cat,
and said 'Granny, burn that!
You incongruous old woman of Smyrna!'

So, get that pen moving on your two limericks about a face-off between the 'plotter' and the 'plotted against' (and, yeah, it can certainly be at least one-half autobiographical!). Remember, your goal is make us laugh, make us gasp, and most of all: make us vote for yours!

Upon reading up on the true story of Caesar's assassination, (not Shakespeare's version that I studied in school) Brutus was just one of a nefarious group of senators, plotting against an unaware and unsuspecting Caesar, not a once best friend, Brutus, who betrayed his friend. That never happened. Brutus was neither Caesar's friend, nor the main assassin. It was Gaius Cassius and others. There was a Brutus, who with the other senators, killed Caesar, but not an et tu, Brute Brutus.

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the Ides of March

by pome lover

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