Ballad of the Last Queen

Cleopatra Philopator Ptolemy,

The last Queen of a diverse dynasty,

The linguist, the diplomat, the ever-cunning mistress,

A jewel amongst her clever family tree.

Cleopatra's childhood is mostly unknown,

Egypt's downfall would be postponed,

Her father, the Pharaoh, sought favor with the Romans,

The peasants now to work with an added load.

King Ptolemy Auletes then joined Ra,

Ponthinus' opportunity through the law,

His plotting and trickery over the years,

The teenage Queen's downfall he foresaw.

Her husband-brother turned verily against her,

The boy king's advisers plotting many dangers,

The Queen's only chance would be found within Rome,

And her salvation presented itself in Julius Caesar.

Born nigh two years later was their son,

Named in honor of his father, he was Caesarion,

The Queen and Isis Incarnate now exalted,

Her influence would cause her lover to be undone.

On the Idles of March, dead her Consort became,

Caesar's body to be consumed by flames,

His general, Antony, declared righteous revenge,

Little did he know, he had entered a deadly game.

Caesar's domains were to be split apart,

Antony chose the East, the path of his heart,

And Octavian, Caesar's Roman heir, would take the west,

Neither knowing that the two would be foes in a war to start.

Antony grieved that he had lost the war,

As the Roman troops stormed in from the shore,

Rumors came of his Beloved's death and he mourned,

By his own hand, his soul would be gone evermore.

Cleopatra, however, was far from dead,

The Queen had to within Isis' temple fled,

Only to be captured as wartime spoils by Octavian,

To cheat him, she would seek out her own deathbed. 

She joined her gods as had her ancestors,

As her tale has become eminent in lore, 

The classic story of love, lust, and lasting tragedy,

Brought to an end by an asp that slithered away on the floor.