going out

i suppose a hero never thinks of death
thought Odysseus, or
so it was spoken by the authors
and understood by the audience

but secretly
when alone
when the water was vibrant still
the moon a slice of lime
the oars flacid
when he could not hear
the sounds of war
the horizon line defined a little too much
as in a painting using too much black

he thought

and he thought of death
because his friend had a lump
and another had pneumonia at 73
and another died from a bridge

and so secretly
when he heroed himself
through whirlpool giants
and multi-eyed water monsters
through cyclops caves
and fields of drowsy poppies
and he gave the readers what they wanted

and he thought of it
and it lie near him
at every bed he took
every god he spoke

odysseus went to his therapist with all this
and doubted his heroism

i'm just like others he said
can't that be enough

and life grows shorter
and shorter

sunsets get darker
and darker

wave after wave
like Tennyson
crossing

one bar
after another