Book Six

Star

Football 

Quarterback 

Continued stretch 

Of wins to coach's 

Glowing praise, players' cheers,

Back benched crew's watchful silence.


Zeus

Declared

Hektor's fate:

Would win acclaim,

Leading the Trojans

Against Achaian ships

Once Agamemnon wounded.


Each

Third form

Boy assigned 

To sixth former 

By smoking lounge vote,

Tasks chosen from menu

Of cleaning, laundry, errands.


Benched,

Practice 

Defense stance

Lowered, two-point, 

Three point, or four-point, 

Blockers bull rushed, leaving 

Their quarterback blind-sided.


Fates

Allowed

Achilles

Choice: long life, deeds

Forgotten; short life, 

Honour everlasting;

Zeus left Patroklos' fate vague.


Third

Form boys,

Discharged from

Tasks, found exit

From sixth form dorm blocked,

Contentious issue forged

Raucous debate at front door.


Paired

Football 

Renegades 

Broke out moos from

Locker room corner,

Football players stripping 

Down after sweaty practice.


Sent

To spy 

On Trojans,

Odysseus,

And Diomedes 

Left the ships under the 

Watchful eyes of Athene.


Search

Party

Of prefects 

Arrived at dorm

After curfew had

Been missed, trapped boys freed, thanks

To head boy's intervention.


Cow

Mooer

Dropped soap bar,

Bent to retrieve 

It, grabbed from behind 

In spontaneous, four 

man rush, slippery takedown.


A

Greedy,

Trojan spy,

Quickly subdued, 

Interrogated,

Supplications silenced 

When captors beheaded him.


Clean

Copies

Of old Greek 

Midterm exam

Run off, passages

Highlighted during class:

'Likely to be seen again.'


Boys,

Who had 

Switched sports for 

Guaranteed play

On soccer teams, used

Agility, training 

To control balls past goalie.


Zeus

Sent Hate,

Achaians 

At first slaughtered 

Trojans to city

Walls; bloodied, drew back, gave

Hektor his promised glory.


Third

Form, store

Clerk, worried 

Over his Greek

Midterm, sought advice

From fifth form manager,

Top grades earner among peers.


Cool, 

Rainy

Weather struck

Cross country boys,

Tank tops pulled over

Bare skin, white, nylon shorts 

Turned transparent through downpours.


Sons,

Soley 

Known through their

Famous fathers, 

Slain by veterans'

Spear thrusts, armour, tunics 

Stripped, leaving piled up corpses.


Fifth

Former

Remembered 

Midterm, spoon-fed 

Passages on it,

Worried clerk euphoric,

Grabbed his textbook after lunch.





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