Wednesday Poem

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Lay of Rome
Thomas Ybarra

Oh, the Roman was a rogue,

  He erat was, you bettum;

He ran his automobilis

  And smoked his cigarettum;

He wore a diamond studibus

  And elegant cravattum,

A maxima cum laude shirt,

  And a stylish hattum!

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He loved the luscious hic-haec-hoc,

  And bet on games and equi;

At times he won, at others, though,

  He got it in the necqui;

He winked (quo usque tandem?)

  At puellas on the Forum,

And sometimes even made

  Those goo-goo oculorum!
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He frequently was seen

  At combats gladiatorial,

And ate enough to feed

  Ten boarders at Memorial;

He often went on sprees

  And said, on starting homus,

"Hic labor --- opus est,

  Oh, where's my hic--hic--domus?"
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Although he lived in Rome --

  Of all the arts the middle --

He was (excuse the phrase)

  A horrid individ'l;

Ah! what a diff'rent thing

  Was the homo (dative, hominy)

Of far-away B.C.

  From us of Anno Domini.

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