A 10 year siege
One night, on sacred ground
One man’s idea, one man’s trick
Breaking Zeus’ law
Defiled humanity
And Penelope wove
A son of God, blinded and mocked
and Penelope wove
6 lives fed to 6 mouths
and Penelope wove
One man returned home
And Penelope stopped
Argus didn’t wag his tail
For he has been dead a long time
Telemachus cold upon his throne
A palace no more
Where is Penelope?
Not even the flies gathering on the slave’s bones greeted Odysseus
As much as he begged and thrashed
For he couldn’t be there
10 years
20 years
30 years
One thousand ships
One thousand years
He died a long time ago
He Is dying still
Not In Ithaca
Nor In Polyphemus’ cave
Home never accepted him
He has always been there
In a burning city
Below a hundred parents
Above the skulls of their babes
Among one thousand ships
Still weeping
Locked
Inside the belly of a clever, wooden horse
Behind the walls of Troy
