Today, write your own poem in the voice of a specific animal with references to historical events.

Antiochus, he took my life
And poured my blood upon their scrolls,
Unleashing Maccabean strife.
Antiochus, he took my life;
He grabbed my snout and stuck his knife.
I did not die to save their souls—
Antiochus, he took my life
And poured my blood upon their scrolls.

He met his end on Persian soil:
Epiphanes, mad Seleucid.
My blood was not exchanged for oil
He met his end on Persian soil:
Invading armies’ plans to spoil.
He wasn’t known for being lucid—
He met his end on Persian soil:
Epiphanes, mad Seleucid . . .

Antiochus IV Epiphanes (c. 215 BC – 164 BC) was the Seleucid king of the Hellenistic Syrian kingdom who reigned from 175 BC until 164 BC, best known for his persecution of the Jews and the subsequent Maccabean Revolt.  Initially named Mithridates, he seized the throne after his brother Seleucus IV was assassinated, ruling as a controversial usurper while his nephew Demetrius I was held hostage in Rome.

Key historical events and characteristics include:

• Hellenization and Persecution: He enforced Greek culture by outlawing Jewish rites, desecrating the Jerusalem Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing swine, and ordering the destruction of the Torah.

• Military Campaigns: He nearly conquered Ptolemaic Egypt but was forced to withdraw in 168 BC after Roman ambassador Gaius Popillius Laenas drew a line in the sand, demanding an immediate response.

• Legacy: His erratic and capricious behavior earned him the nickname “Epimanes” (“The Mad”) from detractors, and he is often viewed in Jewish tradition and Christian eschatology as a precursor to the Antichrist.

Antiochus died in 164 BC in Tabae (modern-day Iran) while campaigning against the Parthians, following a military defeat and a contracting illness. His death marked the end of the immediate crisis, allowing the Maccabees to recapture Jerusalem, cleanse the Temple, and eventually establish an independent Jewish state.

[from Wikipedia]

New Amsterdam

You’re sending me tulips mistaken for lilies
You give me your lip after punching me silly
You turned my head till it rolled down the brain drain
If I had any sense now I wouldn’t want it back again

New Amsterdam it’s become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brakes to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess…

Down on the mainspring, listen to the tick tock
Clock all the faces that move in on your block
Twice shy and dog tired because you’ve been bitten
Everything you say now sounds like it was ghost-written

Chorus

Back in London they’ll take you to heart after a little while
Though I look right at home I still feel like an exile

Somehow I found myself down at the dockside
Thinking of the old days of Liverpool and Rotherhide
The transparent people who live on the other side
Living a life that is almost like suicide

Lyrics: Elvis Costello (1980)