Poetry | Mighty Ulysses

Thoughts

Our times are calling out for a hero like in the olden times when heroes made a difference. Yet who should we call upon? Should we call upon Achilles, but his temper is the last thing we need. Maybe, we should call upon Ulysses or Odysseus, a shrewd hero is what we need, but can Ulysses stand our test? Can any hero withstand the big tests of modern times?

Audio Podcast

The Poem | Mighty Ulysses

Abandon your quest mighty Ulysses—
glorious fields of Elysium
still haven’t seen a bigger shoe;
you stood up to gods and monsters,
yet nothing more threatening than today
when everything urges you to move
far away from yourself;
you dared venture the realm of Erebus
such a mighty feat, but today
nothing is more glorious
than stepping outside your door,
every day, and when you come back,
you are still the same man.

There are no horrors like those you faced—
no sirens, no one-eyed monsters;
nothing wants to eat your flesh anymore,
but there is that shadow lurking outside your door
longing to eat your heart within.
Fear not mighty Ulysses; I will lead the way;
no one will turn your men to swine—
modern civilized men had it all figured out;
no need to turn you physically, anyway,
you can always be treated as one.

Come my dear Ulysses, come
don’t let your heart fail you yet;
your men perished for the cattle of the sun—
look around you today, anything you touch
must be sacred to someone,
and gods are changing every day.
Your Laestregonians are on the run—
what’s more than eating a man’s flesh
is eating up his hopes and dreams
to ever become a man—
Xenia of the modern world—
we take your children in;
we only teach one thing
you live as you are born;
take our river to the top,
or go live with all the rest,
drink from Lethe into oblivion.
You rise when we say you rise;
when we need a stepping stone, you fall.

Don’t lose heart, sweet mighty Ulysses—
there is one currency in our modern world
to win or lose the heart of man,
I’m not sure if you do understand;
go back to your world mighty Ulysses—
wars are waged and fought today
by much mightier heroes;
the battle of every day
to start the day a man
and finish the day a man.
Go back mighty Ulysses,
abandon your quest in our world—
our invisible monsters are hard to spot,
and a dedicated consumer like us, you are not.
Abandon your quest mighty Ulysses,
and leave it all to the modern man.