The Epitaph of the Kaiser Vardas

by Joseph P. Farrell

Here lieth the Master and Majesty of Byzantium:
The Kaiser,
Vardas.
I ruled a kingdom and killed my kin;
It is for the good of the Empire, I said,
As my blade sliced him:
Thus here now I rule this kingdom:
These worms, this dust.

Epitaph for Kaiser Vardas appeared originally in American Poetry Anthology, Feb 1990.
It is reprinted here, by permission of the author, as the finale of the Mosaic Soliloquies serial.