Book Four

At

Host team

Lockers, length,

Tone on display 

Fed comparisons

By boys used to their own

Circumcised ubiquity.


A 

Goddess 

Empowered

Diomedes

Speared Pandaros, heaved

Boulder at Aineias,

Whom Aphrodite swept off.


Third

Classroom 

Discussion,

Manhood stages,

Epheboi, trained at

Public gymnasiums, 

Aged into neaniskoi.


School 

Bus pulled

Up, discharged

Opposing team 

Dressed in prep striped ties,

Navy blazers, chinos,

Escorted to guest lockers.


Pawns

Of Zeus,

Battlefield 

Paired mortals, gods:

Diomedes with 

Athena; Aineias,

Apollo; Hektor, Ares.


Fourth

Classroom 

Discussion,

Motivations,

Gods leaving splendours 

Of Mt Olympus for 

Bloody, corpse strewn battlefield.


Blue

Eyes, blond

Hair, navy,

And white jerseys:

Visitors formed a

Homogeneous sea

Facing home team's blue, and grey.


Host,

And guest,

Both fathers'

Past roles invoked,

Diomedes, and 

Glaukos declined to fight,

Exchanged their armour instead.


Each

Master

Assigned a

Dining table,

Sixth form favourite 

Taking charge in absence,

Ladling, spooning, passing food.


From 

Playbook's 

First pages,

Quarterback launched

His offensive drives, 

Blind to home team's stealth moves

Propelling interceptions.


Vain

Paris,

Asked to judge 

Goddess beauty, 

Bit, when Helen bait,

Chafed at consequences;

Hektor submitted to yoke.


Fourth,

Fifth form 

Waiters lined

Up, waiting for 

Prayer, to rush main course

Stacked on trays, afterwards,

Haul soiled plates, bowls,  glasses back. 


Home

Team won,

Thanks to arm,

Intuitive 

Plays, passes fielded

By quarterback, against 

Which coach lacked defense counters.


One

Trojan,

Hektor, one

Greek, Aias, set

To fight each other,

Man against man: spears thrown

At shields; spears plunged; boulders hurled.


Old

Boy walked

Through third form

Dorm, looked at names

On chore list, paused in

Doorway, shared desk, wardrobes

Exactly as remembered.


Home

Team swarmed

Field around

New quarterback,

Reached over to pat

His helmet, shouting, then

Headed to their locker room. 


Fight

Ended

By heralds

As night arrived,

Hektor, and Aias 

Exchanged gifts, proved equals

Without gods' interventions.


Old

Boy glimpsed

Players through 

Locker window 

Pulled open to let

Out steam, exuberance 

Unrestrained by nakedness.




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