Eurylochus Laments, The Return/4 (poem)

Ulysses and the Sirens by Herbert James Draper

 

Eurylochus Laments

 

 

Curse the Gods

& all those who follow them

I am not a fatalist but I know

we are all doomed

 

he will escape though

he always escapes

it is us who pay for it

 

we have faced a monster with six heads

eating our crew-mates, a witch

who turned us into pigs,

women with beautiful voices

trying to lure us ashore,

a giant who dashed the heads

of the crew against a cavern wall

& ate them whole, & of course

Gods seeking vengeance for his

own transgressions & deceits

 

& each time

he survives

 

he may be my lord & king

but

 

when you gaze into the chaos

long enough

you get to see how things will

fall into place

 

he will make it home &

win back his lost kingdom

 

our wives, sons, & daughters

will grieve, wondering what

became of us

 

all will marvel at his survival;

the story of the lost sea-wanderer

emerging like Orpheus

out of the Land of the Dead

sparing no thought for us

 

we will be lost

amongst the waves,

scattered across these islands

& forgotten

 

he will return

& sacrifice us all for it

 

 

Joanne Fisher

 

Only four other sailors in The Odyssey are actually named. Eurylochus is the second in command and is the most bolshy of all of them, which is why I used him as the voice for the other sailors.

 

This is part Four of my Odyssey sequence The Return.

1. Penelope Waits

2. Telemachus Schemes

3. Calypso Sings

 

Thanks to Charli Mills for the coffees. It enabled to buy some food. Much appreciated.

 

Please donate! 🙂

 

 

©2020 Joanne Fisher

 

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