Book Ten (20 September 2023)
School
Football
Team suited
Up for practice,
One locker stayed closed,
Uniform hooked inside,
Equipment spread on bottom.
Proud
Hektor
Put on cold,
Bloody armour,
Passed to Achilles
By his father, borrowed,
Stripped from corpse of Patroklos.
Friend,
Tongue-tied,
Who shared room,
Classes with wrist
Injured quarterback,
Offered support; roommate
Pressed workout partner to play.
School's
Soccer,
Cross country
Teams, their backs to
Football team lockers,
Overheard murmurs of
Confusion with leadership.
Wise
Aias
Requested
Menelaus:
Send Antilochos
To report the death of
Patroklos to Achilles.
Third
Form dorm
Boys walked down
Stairs to basement
Locker room showers
Wearing bathrobes, holding
Towels, hung robes, towels, turned on taps.
Coach
Addressed
Team, two out
For season, big
Alumni weekend,
Announced JV player
Would fill slot during practice.
News
Received,
Achilles
Mourned Patroklos'
Loss, sought revenge through
Hektor's death, Thetis heard,
Asked Hephaestus for armour.
Backs
To tiles,
Water hit
Shoulders, buttocks,
Hands grabbed soap bars to
Lather faces, chests, arms,
Legs, between them, turned to rinse.
At
Long last,
Director's
Prescient line up
Took shape: alumnus'
Firstborn was quarterback
During alumni weekend.
Hands
Grabbed feet
To drag corpse,
Aiantes pushed back;
At Iris' urging,
Achilles cupped his hands
Around mouth to shout from ditch.
Boys
Lingered,
Rising steam
Obscured intent
Of hands, soap bars, which
Circumnavigated
Puckered, pink skin of their bodies.
Balls
Hiked to
JV spared
Quarterbacks thrown,
Aimed at massed offense
Unknowns, overseen by
Withdrawn senior working out.
Corpse
Washed, oiled,
Wounds sealed with
Unguents, shrouded,
Divine ambrosia,
Nectar fed to forestall
Any spoilage by maggots.
One
By one,
Taps turned off,
Steam escaped, boys
Gathered to dry off
By shower entry, their
Bathrobes rewrapped, climbed upstairs.
Games
Reserved
Uniforms
Laundered, chalk lines
Re-rolled, visitor
Locker room repainted,
Refreshment tent assembled.
Gift
Armour
Delivered,
Anger sated,
Achilles mourned while
Gathered Achaians ate,
Then strapped on battle metals.
School
Vans dropped
Visitor
Team at gym lot,
Greeted, shown lockers,
Athletes emerged dressed for
Play, escorted to the fields.
{18 stanzas/page}
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