AURI SACRA FAMES! (weekly poem)

AURI SACRA FAMES!

(‘Cursed craving for gold’ – Virgil. The Aeneid )

The forthcoming Olympic Games will no doubt bring the usual

positive drug tests and far-fetched denials and explanations.

The positive drug test came as,

An unexpected shock;

It must be something they put in,

My lump of Brighton Rock.

Or else it was the Tetley bags,

They put into my tea;

That’s caught me out when I gave them,

My second sample pee.

Or maybe Martians landed and,

Their rocket engine’s heat;

Boiled over my cough mixture gel,

And made me look a cheat.

Whatever the real problem is,

You all must surely see;

Though I’m the only one to gain,

It couldn’t have been me!

And, anyway, who kids themselves,

The Games are healthy sport;

Success today in every way,

Depends on what you snort!

© Richard Layton