Battle of Cannae

50,000 Romans lay dead,
Because you, Varro, fled.
Paullus died in Carthaginian pincors,
Where Hannibal yet again
In craft, broke his center rank
And deliberately led the bulk of your forces
Into a well designed trap.

Had Varro rode against 
Hannibal's Cavalry
And had those Numidian Infantry
Not laid in wait behind Hannibal's Lines,---
In their hidden columns amidst the dust,---
You may have died too.
Perhaps you need flee.
So Rome is not without a governor. 

You marched the largest army in Roman History
And later, would the sun darken and shields sweat blood
On the battlefield, when Fabius and Marcellus
Shield and Sword, would finally defeat you.
And Scipio would land the fatal blow
In Spain and Africa, recalling Hannibal the Terror of Rome.