I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

9 April 2014

War Games

When I got my Kobo WiFI
(which is now obsolete and dead)
it came with one hundred and one
free downloads from Gutenberg dot com
classics, including 
Homer’s Iliad. Well!
Always wanted to read that. Felt I should. 

It was the great Alexander Pope’s translation,
so I thought it must be good
(forgetting I was never mad on Pope).

Every male friend who saw me reading it
seized the e-reader out of my hands
devoured a few paragraphs,
then handed it back reluctantly, exclaiming,
“Such good stuff, isn’t it?”

I must say, I didn’t quite get it,
but I persevered. For several chapters.
By which time it gradually dawned —
it’s a boys’ book. This one fights that one,
these ones fight them. And in between
they give rousing speeches
urging each other on,
or occasionally chiding the few cowards.

They do like a bit of biffo, blokes.

Not me. I deleted Homer.


April PAD Challenge 2014, day 8: Two for Tuesday — a violent poem / a peaceful poem. This, of course, is the violent one.

2 comments:

  1. I like both of these. So glad you've warned me about Homer - at times I think romantically of the classics I've missed out on and should get around to one day! Nup, not really.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What was so fascinating was that the blokes not only loved it, but obviously had prior acquaintance and were returning as to an old favourite.

      Delete

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