The Roman Bath – a sonnet

 

Julius Caesar came here for the iron

Ignoring Bannatyne’s imperial worth

But Caratacus, ever one to try out

New-fangled things, build us this splendid bath

In AD 51, as you’ll have noted

When reading Mr Brisco’s little guide

To Summerfields’ palatial house and garden

Before you wandered down to sit beside

Our Roman Spring, with its lion heads (now missing;

Stolen by some Vandals in the night)

But if you close your eyes for just a moment

I’m sure that you can conjure up the sight

            Of ladies, lying languid, in the sun

            While young men oil themselves before they run.

 

 

 Brian Hick

This poem concerns a small Roman spring in the woods near Hastings museum.

 

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