where eventually it will be re-instated,
this statue of Apollo for the present
lies prone in Hermippos' workshop.
Derricks and a broad-wheeled cart
drawn by six horses were required to haul it,
it was a feat of engineering.
to tilt it onto its straw bed
Now the surgery can begin
after prayers that no hidden vein in the marble
will cause a fracture
at the incision around the neck.
Then, if skill and calculation
are rewarded with luck,
the ponderous head will fall,
to be replaced by another:
the portrait bust , already prepared, of Gaius
affectionately known as Caligula.
To whom the senate accords divine status
by an unanimous vote,
offering this statue as tribute
in the hope of a new Parnassus.
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