Rome fell,
     the Mongols & Ottomans, too.
 Great powers fall
     often sans much ado.
     
     [Psst! someday yours will, too.]

They can't help but crumble;
     the foundations get rot.
 And there's too much weight
     to bear, without spurring plots.

Plots and schemes and pandering, 
     all throughout the State.
 Forget those Barbarians, the threat 's 
     inside the gates.