It is fine workmanship, too be sure.
See, there-- look how small the tiles are,
How intricately they do capture the detail
Of fair Poseidon's face.
They call him Earth-Shaker, Rain-God, Cloud-Gatherer.
They say this as if they had never heard of my power,
My sheer strength, my good looks.
And they know nothing of my hatred for the sea god.
It happened very long ago--
The finest ships in the country had been arranged for my journey,
But even with their massive size they could not protect me.
The captain himself told me that I would not be sick.
I had him executed for that.
Poseidon thought it funny, to shake my boat,
To make me more miserable than I had ever been in my life.
His waves caused my illness, and I will never forgive him for it.
He thought me a fool, but he has no idea of my power.
I will overcome him easily.
I do not fear the gods, for I am one myself.
"You speak blasphemy," you say--
"Fluently," say I,
For you see, I plan to meet Poseidon in battle to-morrow.
To-morrow, my army will march on him.
We shall collect every shell, every sand dollar, every piece of sea glass
That he ever did possess.
The people of Rome will become rich on the spoils of this war.
And as for the sea-god-- I will destroy him.
My fury is great, and it will be the last thing he sees
Before he is crushed beneath my boot.
And now, I must go-- I shall require no extra energy to defeat him,
But I shall rest anyway.
But first-- before I retire to my chambers, know this.
If you warn the sea god of my coming,
There will be no place on this earth where you can hide.
My men will find you, no matter what dark, stinking cave
You may choose to cower in.
And when they do, there will be no mercy.
For if you reveal my plans to the ocean... your life will be worth nothing.
Vale, ladies and gentlemen.  Till we meet again.