The Colosseum

Gladiators fought there,
Bleeding through the cheers,
While tourists of today (like me!)
Imagine all those years.

The structure still stands proudly,
Well, parts of it, at least,
As cameras click where once were bouts
Of human versus beast.

We step on stones first placed there
In the ancient days of Rome,
Where Jewish slaves took eight long years 
To build it, far from home.

We marvel at this masterpiece,
At all that's still intact,
Envisioning the action
From the hints we can extract.