Would Cleopatra Have Been Shocked? Poem by gershon hepner

Would Cleopatra have been shocked if
Octavius told her: “Call me Octave”?
If Cleo, known as Cleopatri,
had used a snake that had a battery
that helped deliver pleasant shocks
delivered like a toy that rocks,
instead of one whose poisoned bite
gave her a Liebestod delight,
she might have sailed upon her barque
forever with her master, Marc,
besotted as a carnal Copt,
instead of being double-stopped.
She played too many Octaves, and
died dissonant in Egypt’s land.

Some fanciful thoughts inspired by an ode by Horace,1.37, translated by Paul Swarney, which he sent to me in skeptical response Mary Beard’s review of “Cleopatra: The Last Queen of Egypt, ” by Joyce Tyldesley (“The Truth About Cleopatra, ” NYR, February 12,2009) , suggesting that Octavius may have murdered Cleopatra.

2/3/09