Odysseus: I Have Travelled Over the Raging Sea

I

I have travelled over the raging sea,
sat in the counsels of the greatest men, of famous kings
I have met disaster, havoc and the enemy,
helped open the gates of Troy, have seen many things

and now after my travels are done,
I live with an aging wife
the bravest of my men are gone
and somehow I still long for strive

but have only tranquillity
where I exercise righteous laws,
unto a heroic race that is both brave and free
and I long for danger while my life is at a pause,

before the darkness beacons me
to take the last journey.

II

I want to cross the last barrier of the wide ocean,
through thunder, rain, hail and sunshine
challenge the eternal silences,
lead my mariners to another great victory

pull my sword, the string of my bow
feel the grasp of the armour that embraces my body
and even if wounded I bleed,
I will be truly living.

I want to experience another thrill,
by sheer determination sail to the beyond
before the eternal sleep catches me
and I in glee embrace Achilles on the other side.

Now I am brandishing his shield,
am determined to search, to conquer and never to yield.

(After Alfred Lord Tennyson/Reference: Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson.)

poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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