I was a soldier, and Cleopatra the Queen
took me to her bed for s**. Her whiteness,
the unearthly omnipotence of her gaze.
Then it was over.
Oh, that gaze, that white skin, and that bed
where a dazzling whiteness reigned supreme.
Oh, that omnipotent, marble-colored rose!
Then it as over.
I could have snapped her spine with my hands.
I was the slave set free who made her forget Antony.
(Oh, her bed, her gaze, and her whiteness!)
Then it was over.
My name is Rufus Gallus. I was a soldier
with Gallic blood, and that imperious cow
blessed me with a bold minute of her whim.
Then it was over.
When her body arched in orgasm, why didn't
my bronze fingers encircle the white queen's neck,
and close even tighter, in playful jest?
Then it was over.
I was taken to Egypt with a chain
around my neck. Then one day I was devoured
by dogs. My name? Rufus Gallus.
Then it was over.