It does little good that a useless king
By this empty fireplace, next to these rocks
Paired with an old wife, I make and enforce
Unfair laws to a savage people
That live and steal and sleep and do not know me
I cannot give up traveling, I will experience
Life to the fullest. I have enjoyed all my life experiences
Greatly, I have suffered a lot, experienced these emotions both
With people around me, and in solitude. I have experienced these emotions on land
And when sailing through a
Rough stormy sea. My name is known before me
Because I always sail aimlessly with a desire in my heart
I have seen and learned a lot – big cities
And strange customs and strange climates and governments
I was not considered lowly, but was honored by all of these poples
And I experienced joy of victorious battle with my fellow soldiers
Far away on that wind-swept plains of troy
I am a part of all I have seen
Yes experience is a door by which
I see the lure of an untraveled world who’s horizon
Grows farther and farther away whenever I move towards it.
How boring it is to stop chasing that horizon! To rest permenantly.
To rust, unpolished, not to experience life and be polished
As if breathing was actually life, as life abundant
Was not enough, and of the life I have been given
Little times remains, but each moment I save
From death’s hands I gain something else
A taste of further adventure. And although it was cruel
For three suns to horde so much of my life
And my bland soul yearning in the desire
To seek knowledge as if knowledge was going out of style
Seek it beyond the way anyone has ever sought it
This is my son, my Telemachus
To whom I am leaving the rule of my island
He loves me, and he is wise enough to take
This job, and through his patience to make
These saviage citizens mildk and through gently degrees
Convert them to be useful and good
My son Is blameless, and centers himselve in
His duties, and is good enough that he will not fail
To show appropriate kindess, and worship
The gods I worshiped after I am gone (die)
There lies the port, my boat’s sails are puffed
There, beyond, are the darks seas. My sailors
Souls that have worked and thought with me
That with joyful hearts took both thunder
And sunshine, and opposed hearts and minds free of burdens. – you and I are old
Old age still retains honor
Death closes out this life, but there is something before the end
Some work of notice my still be completed
Not ugly men that walked with the gods
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks
The sun sets after a long day; the moon climbs slowly, the deepest part of the ocean
Moans as if with voices. Come, my friends
It is not too late to seek a newer, nicer world
Set the boat off, and in this boat beat off
The waves and storms; For I intend
To sail to that horizon and beyond, and
into the western stars as far as I can before I die
It may be that we will be washed out of the stars
Or it may be we will sail all the way to heaven
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew
Although much is gone from out bodies, much still remains, and although
We are not as powerful as we were when we
Sailed before and have huge journeys, what we are now we cannot change
We are all old, but have heroic hearts still
They have been weakened by time and fate, but they remain strong in the will
To search and to not stop until they find heaven.
© Lindsay A. Braman 2003-2012
This file for reference use only.
