Perhaps the Empire instituted the new procedure
To condition the public’s expectations
To inure them against the onslaught of harm
To involve them in the suffering
Exhibited in the performances
Everybody demanded realism
And in fact reality
No more pretend ships in pretend battles
No more violent choreography
That makes mockery of the shock of war
And thus it has come to pass
That beyond the reassurance
That comes from merely witnessing
The death struggles of beast against beast
Of beast against man
Of man against man
The struggles that must end in slow or quick death
Observed from shielded vantage
The people are now permitted
To take part in the show
And even now the great surge of water
Cascades over the seating area
Collects upon the great round floor
The billowing wind bends all before it
And all the children the women and the men
Having paid their admission fee
Are drowned