A Victory-On-The-Bus Poem Poem by robert dickerson

</></></>There. I have memorized the entire Iliad.
Over literally thousands of bus rides I have memorized the Iliad.
Not just the highlights but the poem entire and whole.
Hundreds of pages, chapters, episodes and scenes.
I really didn't know if I could do it, at first.
Even I must admit it really quite a feat
That one who could barely say 'synecdoche',
That one who could never remember zip codes
Now keeps a-spin an epic in ancient Greek
With careful attention to pitches and aspirants.
It really is like what Grandfather told us, under the trees,
As he ate the second apple, applecore and all:
'You never know what you can do until you try'.
At first it was hard. At first it was VERY hard
But things improved noticeably the second year-
(It helps when you get the basic rhythm down)
And by 1999 (it sounds so long ago)
I was fast approaching clangorous book ten.
The death of Patrocles was a definite turning point:
Why did he do it? Why was he such a fool
As to don the resplendent armor of his friend
That was somewhat too big, temerity despite?
Now that was a clear-cut case of adhesiveness;
By the time the wildman Diomedes battled the river
Filletting the waves with his flashing sword's edge
It was downhill all the way, and needless to say
Hector's goodbye to Andromache practically memorized itself.
Way out on the nut it all was, but I really had to try.
All those cantos. All those cross-town hauls.
How odd it feels to have all those heroes running 'round
In the Troy of my mind, and all those -itchy goddesses
Bicker, ...