Homer (if there were
a such) said Poets are not
to blame for how…this
world is. He/she/they
put the blame on Zeus that poor
Odysseus had
to slaughter his way
home to Ithaca, if not
to persevering
Penelope. (But
she’s another story.) Back
up fifteen hundred
years as Gilgamesh
sought the why-of-it-all, his
quest for eternal
life after his best
bro dies. What is it with
hallelujahs for
carnage? Is Zeus still
the problem? Why keep sending
heroes on journeys,
expecting some guy
to bring home a tale of blame,
and gore-filled escapades?
What kind of father
sends away a beloved son
to a bloody death?
Poets, reframe. Call out
these misnamed claims. Hubris,
sin, not laurels of glory.
The Odyssey p. 116 tr. Emily Wilson