Comment from lyenochka

Excellent

I totally agree with your sentiment! And unfortunately, the whole attitude of the Coliseum and loyalties to teams of the SuperBowl has spilled into the political arena. There are those who cheer for violence against the other party. It shows how humans have not improved from their thirst for "mortal combat."
Expertly crafted poem!

 Comment Written 02-Sep-2024

---

reply by the author on 02-Sep-2024

Thanks for the excellent review and I am glad you found the poem so engaging. We have not changed at all. We have better technology, we sit in more comfortable chairs, but we still throw ourselves into the glorification of violence, and gambling, and all kinds of other diversions. What I found so intriguing is that the Roman Coliseum was the model for so many of our modern arenas. So I felt it would make a perfect symbol for this theme. estory

Comment from Aussie

Excellent

'tragedy' Your story/poem tells about the cruelty and greed of Rome. There will always be the rich and the poor. Today, men are at senseless wars and women and children, cannon fodder. The hierarchy could put a stop to this senseless killing, they won't because they, like the Romans love control and murder of the innocents. K xx

 Comment Written 10-Aug-2024

---

reply by the author on 11-Aug-2024

Thanks for the excellent review and your perspective on the piece. What I was really trying to get across is this love affair we have with fame, with sports, and spectacle, violence and status, which all in the end leads to ruin. I thought the Coliseum was a great image of that corruption and ruin of our modern society. estory

Comment from Marilyn Hamilton

Excellent

I will never understand violence for sport and it has managed to stay in society one way or another through the ages. Very good poem and interesting author notes. Thanks for sharing.

 Comment Written 27-Jul-2024

---

reply by the author on 28-Jul-2024

Thanks for the excellent review and your words of support for my poem. As long as I can get people thinking, I am on the right track, I think. estory

Comment from Ginda Simpson

Exceptional

We look at these monuments in awe, but you bring us into the horrors that they represent, the blood sport that entertained the masses. And you are right, are we any different today? I like that you dig deeper and give us pause to reflect on what entertains us.

 Comment Written 27-Jul-2024

---

reply by the author on 28-Jul-2024

Thanks again for the exceptional review and your support for the piece. estory

Comment from SimianSavant

Excellent

Great choice of words and flow. There is a real music to your cadence.

Hunger for triumph and trajedgy. <= tragedy

A bit more attention to visual presentation (colors, font, layout, image) would enhance your piece, but I enjoyed it as it is.

Best regards,

SS

 Comment Written 27-Jul-2024

---

reply by the author on 28-Jul-2024

Thanks for the excellent review and your words of support and suggestions. I usually work hard on the poetic images, I thought the coliseum would be a great image for the crumbling of culture and society we experience today. There are many similarities between our world of today and ancient Rome. Eerily so. estory

Comment from Cindy Decker 3

Excellent

Author,
I like your poem about the Roman Colosseum; I saw this wonder in 1976; I got chills when I viewed the place Christians were held, awaiting their fate.one error: you misspelled "tragedy."
Excellent poem about this wonder that survived, when many people inside it, did not.
Best wishes,
Cindy

 Comment Written 27-Jul-2024

---

reply by the author on 27-Jul-2024

Thanks for the excellent review and your perspective on the poem. I am glad it got you thinking about this aspect of human nature, this fascination with violence and spectacle. estory

Comment from jake cosmos aller

Excellent

a power and moving poem about the power and majesty of the old Colosseum of ancient Rome famous for the gladiator games one the bloodiest games ever shown

 Comment Written 26-Jul-2024

---

reply by the author on 26-Jul-2024

Thanks for the excellent review and your comments in support of the poem. I really wanted to get people thinking about our fascination with spectacle, sport, fame, and violence. These things haven't changed in thousands of years. I think the Romans would have been perfectly at home in our time. estory

Comment from Sally Law

Excellent

You know, I quite agree with you here, estory. I have no desire to see the ruins in Rome because I had a friend go for holiday. She said she sat still among the ruins for a long while and just wept and wept. She said she could feel them--those souls martyred for their faith in Christ. How many visit there and never sense of feel those departed souls?

Bloodsport of any kind turns my stomach. I used to compete in track and field in high school and once thought that was important. I don't anymore. I guess that's what the Bible means when it says to put away childish things and pursue righteous and peace in the Holy Spirit. A good word for this times, my friend.
All my best,
Sal :))

 Comment Written 26-Jul-2024

---

reply by the author on 26-Jul-2024

Thanks for the excellent review. Your comments are all spot on. I wanted to get people thinking about this fascination we seem to have for violence, sport, victory and fame. And I wanted people to think of the victims of all that spectacle. And maybe the fact that our sports stadiums of today aren't that different from the coliseum. estory

Comment from Jesse James Doty

Excellent

I agree the gambling that goes on during sports is appalling. We don't excel in our lives because someone else votes for us to do better at any sport. We are all like the days of the old when Lions ate Christians for fun. The World Olympics is for profit and fame rather than doing good for others. I'd rather see folks benefit for the good they do to others less fortunate than themselves.
Thanks for keeping it real!
Jesse

 Comment Written 26-Jul-2024

---

reply by the author on 26-Jul-2024

Thanks for the excellent review and I think you got what I was trying to get across here. I used to watch the Olympics, but if the people who started them in the 1890's would see what it became, I think they would turn over in their graves. First the professional athletes, and now the gamblers. No thanks. estory

reply by Jesse James Doty on 26-Jul-2024

Agreed.
Jesse

Comment from BethShelby

Excellent

The Coliseum in Rome has echoes of a very brutal people who enjoyed watching people die for their own amusement. Most of the victims had no choice in the matter. You seem to be comparing that to the game arenas of today.
Those who play in them have worked very hard to have the privilege of competing. They may get hurt but that is their choice. I tend the think the fans of seeing blood in Rome might find this activity to mild for their taste.

 Comment Written 25-Jul-2024

---

reply by the author on 26-Jul-2024

Thanks for the excellent review and your perspective on the piece. I feel that the obsession with sports we have today is very much in the vein of Roman sport. We have the gambling, the violence, the spectacle, the cult of fame that all goes with it. estory