Regnant, o’er Rome’s abandoned ground, processional they came.
Uprisen like any sun,
Through vistas hollow gray,
Aloft, and one by one,
In brazen casque, the Emperors loomed large, and sank away.
In ovals of wan light,
Each warrior eye and mouth:
A pageant brutal bright,
As if, once over, loudly passed Jove’s laughter in the south;
And dimmer, these among,