The Sons of Mars: The Gladiators

Jean-Leon Gerome, Pollice Verso (1872)

They enter the new coliseums to the thunderous applause of their devotees
These modern day gladiators lifted up as the heroes of the age
The champions among us, some mingling of humanity with lesser gods
In ancient days the gladiators were slaves who fought for the promise
Of an elusive freedom once they had earned Caesar’s favor for their prowess
But the modern day sons of Mars who ascend to the hallowed fields of competition
Can be richer than princes and occupy the choice seats at the banquet of life
 
Stronger, faster and more powerful through blood and training
They are freaks of nature capable of godlike feats with their bodies
For a time they seem invincible and unmatchable and we watch them
Projecting them onto screens that are even larger than the life they live
Yet, once they fall they are quickly consigned to the dustbin of memory
For there is no place for wounded warriors or broken gladiators
Some few may transcend their place on the field of play and ascend
Token warriors remembered long after their final fight, a chose few
Whether broken in body or mind of simply feeling the mortality of age
There will always be new gladiators, younger and hungrier
Drinking up the applause of the adoring mob who have assembled
To worship the sons of Mars whose lives are lived in arena

Neil White, 2016