Classic Poem

My Cleopatra, queen, alas the day
Thy lustrous eyes proclaimed such bitter doom!
That shame and Antony should live for aye,
An epitaph on Time's enduring tomb!
Soft-coiling serpent! Thy enticing wiles
Hold heroes captive in strong toils of grace;
For power is lost in passion, as fond smiles
Light up the matchless beauty of thy face.
Cold duty summons; but, enchantress fair,
My courage melts beneath thy glowing eyes;
And in thine arms I neither reck nor care
If Roman honor lives or basely dies.
Let Fame's rich pearl dissolve in nectar bright!
Farewell to valor—day is lost in night.