only on the 15th day

Come the Ides of March or May.

So today is the Ides of March. Don't know what an Ides is? Other than perhaps remembering that it is the day when Julius Caesar was murdered.

It's a Latin way of timekeeping but in a bizarre, never-to-be-understood-by-me way, the Ides refer to the 15th of March, May, July and October and.....the 13th of all of the other months! Wha???? Like I said, makes no sense. And why does the rhyme only mention March or May but not July or October?

But then again the Romans added a couple of months to the calendar to suit themselves and ensure their place in history. July was named for Julius Caesar. And has an Ides on the 15th. In case you didn't know the other added month was August, named for Augustus Caesar (adopted son of and heir of Julius) which has an Ides on the 13th. Very confusing.