The Journeys of Odysseus

by Afie Abidi

There was once a man named Odysseus, wise and godlike
And on the day of war, he left his wife and son
To fight to save the shining Helen and to stop the Trojan strike
He fought, and with his cunning, the Greeks with their horse had won!

He finally thought that he would go and see his wife and son, to go home
But his fate was growing worse and worse to that day
He was steered off course, and the seas his men would comb
Facing many challenges, only one of them would live for others to say:

O sing in me Muse, of the man of many ways, who travelled the seas
Who encountered vast isles and overcame journeys at end
Who struggled to hold the golden keys
Of the homecoming of he and his men!

His men, those reckless fools, for they took away their own homecoming,
They went against their leader, Odysseus, and because of that they died
For they ate the immortal oxen of the mighty god Helios the stunning
And Zeus, he had revenge on them at sea, what a sorry sight

But that is not the whole story, so let the wisdom in the god Athene lead us on our way
Through the misty books, and through the words of our predecessors:
Odysseus, the great, the godlike and resourceful fell to the evil clutch of fate
He and his men travelled for months on end on the sea, that mighty lore

They had traveled to the land of the lotus-eaters, his men were tired
They acted recklessly, and into the lotus plants they took a bite
They forgot their purpose and their way home, for the life of the lotus-eaters they admired
Odysseus, the godlike, took his crying men back to his ship, another sorry sight

But while the great Odysseus and his men were struggling to get home
The men of Ithaca had other plans in store
For Penelope, the circumspect and shining among women, they wanted for their own
And while they waited for her response, they made themselves at home, more and more

But what of Odysseus's son, Telemachos, the resourceful?
He wanted his father to come home and make the suitors go away
So, he embarked on his own journey, called the Telemachy, which was a handful
And waiting back at home were the suitors, waiting to kill their prey

Now, Odysseus and his companions reached the land of the Cyclops
There, he and some of his men went into a cave and ate
No one even thought of having to stop
Until Polyphemus, the Cyclops came back that night

Polyphemus the mighty one-eyed beast
Was mad and upset and there was no hospitality that night
He picked up two men, and crushed them together, making himself an unsightly feast
And placed a bolder over the opening, so blocked would be Odysseus and the light

Odysseus, and his cunning self thought of a plan
He would call himself "nobody" and stab the beast in the eye
Then under the sheep would hide this man
And for the beast "Kill nobody!" he would cry

On his ship, safe and sound Odysseus made one mistake
His greedy self told Polyphemus his real name
And that one act then sealed his fate
For Poseidon, Polyphemus' father, Odysseus, he would blame

Next, Odysseus acquired a bag
A few days away from home, his men, reckless, the bag they opened
And their homecoming was yet again made to lag
For that was no ordinary bag, it was a bag of wind!

Off they sailed, stranded again
They landed on the isle of Circe and took to what they liked
And they were turned into pigs, the men
All except, Odysseus, the godlike

His men were then transformed back to their original form
They visited the land of the dead
The heroes they interviewed in the dead of the storm
Some good advice and some words they said

The men then encountered Skylla and Charybdis and their hate
Six men were lost and never to be seen again
Charybdis, drink and vomit, drink and vomit, oh what a sorry fate
Whereas, Skylla with her six heads engulfed the sorry and unsuspecting men

Then off to the lands of the great Helios and his cattle
Oh, majestic and plump they were
Odysseus's men had to restrain themselves, and oh was it a battle
Until one day, they ran out of food and the world was, to them a blur

Let's eat the cattle, nobody will know!
But when the men decided this, Odysseus was not there
They ate until their heart's content, for they were very low
Odysseus came back at was speechless and gave only a stare

The men were off again, weary about their fate
Sailing the seas they travelled with a heavy heart
For them, they knew that it was too late
Zeus sent a huge lightening bolt onto them, and his men would part

They were dead with that shaft!
All except the great Odysseus who did not eat
Then he, the hero had to endure with a makeshift raft
But then, Calypso, shining among goddesses, swept Odysseus off his feet

She rescued him and made him feel at home
She wanted him to stay and become an immortal by her side
But he and she knew that without his family and Ithaca, he would be alone
So, Hermes, prodded his homecoming and she finally complied

So Calypso let her love Odysseus go
And when the hero was from Ithaca, a day away
Poseidon came back and decided it to be not so
So with rain and with thunder, Odysseus was once again blown astray

This time he reached the land of the Phaiakians, hospitable and kind
These people helped him and Odysseus played in their games
He gave the others a piece of his mind
He regained his identity and established, in his mind, his claims

With gold and with gifts Odysseus, aided by the Phaiakians, he traveled back to his home
It was a quick and it was a peaceful ride, with Odysseus at rest
The Phaiakians left Odysseus and his treasure against a tree, alone
Then gray-eyed goddess Athene came to his aid, for who else knows best?

Disguised as a poor beggar, Odysseus planned his next move
He met Eumaios, his swineherd, who showed him that he remains full of faith
But from the others, faithfulness they could not prove
Meanwhile Telemachos eluded the suitors' ambush and came back home safe

The scar on Odysseus's leg
The test of the bow
All that lived up to Odysseus's pledge
The bodies of the suitors Odysseus would, from his palace tow

With the help of Telemachos, Penelope and those who were faithful
Death throughout the house
Victory for Odysseus and no more for the suitors to hope for
However, Circumspect Penelope was still weary for her so-called spouse

The final test she gave him
The test of the bed, and he soon gave in
The only one true secret that they both shared
They finally found one another, and they showed one another how they cared

And so ends our story about the man of many ways who traveled the seas
Who encountered vast isles and overcame journeys at end
And who finally was able to hold the golden keys
Of the homecoming back to his land!