Wednesday, March 10, 2010

He Never Listens To Me




The story goes: She's pregnant by Brutus, and yet made several attempts to disclose to Caesar that Brutus is not trustworthy.. Because she knows. And now Caesar is dead by Brutus' hand.. And she wonders.. Could poor dead Caesar know the meaning of those double pink lines on the little white stick?.. Haunting...

Above if the paraphrased and below is the literal work of fiction written by my 16 year old daughter whose English homework assignment was to write a soliloquy as one of the characters of Julius Caesar. She chose Calpurnia, Roman Empress and wife of Julius Caesar. 


Literal:
“Caesar,” I said, “My love, my lord,”
I tried to reason. “My dream comes not without a meaning.”
He shrugs me off, because I am a woman?!
Everything I’ve said rings true.
I said to him, some time ago:
“Trust Brutus, but not with your most whole life,
For he is like silence- seemingly strong and steadfast,
transparent at all times in intention,
but still easily broken with but a convincing word.”
And with his hand he did strike me!
I wonder if he did think of me,
and my words of warning when his dearer Brutus
deployed that dagger into him.
He has met the end of his days,
it is all done.
And now, he will never listen to me.
Wherever he is now, should he see me now?
Should his see me now, aye, and with this wand?
This tell-all wand, that will soon tell me all?
I sent a servant boy for Brutus,
be neither has yet to return.
There is war about, suffering, the vultures are waiting.
I need him to know, I need someone to know,
that through all this death
(looks at test)
There is life!
Mine, and Brutus’,
that we made
With aid of wine,
and absence of judgment
and of the others’ spouses.
Yes, there is life! Here, in my precious womb!
Caesar prayed and sought and prayed for her fertility,
and it is granted not to him!
Oh fates, your irony be cruel.
Caesar was never to know. And he will continue to not,
if the gods hear me and listen
As he did not
And send his spirit away from here,
Away, away.




1 comments:

MOMSWEB said...

Wow! Your daughter wrote this? It's so beautiful! I'm impressed, yet not surprised...it's in the genes.