Abyss & Apex : Third Quarter 2008: Odysseus on the War Train

Odysseus on the War Train

by Rose Lemberg

 

 

My hero, when you left Penelope did you
imagine never stepping off this train? Its every wagon
a Trojan horse that carries soldiers far from home
and every Trojan horse a coffin. You would seek
adventure, but your paramours are rotting
like empty grain–stalks in deserted fields and skulls
of babies smashed against the walls and husbands rotting
in battlefields – you too were eager to depart.
She will remake, you say, the tapestry and bring you home
and wash your feet and make your bed again – but she unravels
your roads each night. Unmakes the language, spreads
the shroud of silence over you, and prays you never
return.

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Editorial © 2008 Rose Lemberg. All other content copyright © 2008 ByrenLee Press 

 

Copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted.

 

Art Director: Bonnie Brunish