Perhaps the myth of the Trojan war
has so gripped martial-minded men
through three thousand years
because of its utter, pointless futility.
A war fought for a decade because
of a single woman, ending in destruction
and massacre, laying waste to a great city
and the winners mostly perishing
on the way home, or slain after return.
No permanent conquest, Troy left
a barren ruin, winning survivors bringing
some noble slaves to show for it all,
and the hate of gods. No wonder
it has so aroused the men who love war
for the sake of war, this war fought
for the sake of waging a war.
No wonder that to underline the glorious,
pointless futility of it all, some embellished
the myth so that Helen had never been
at Troy at all, but chaste in Egypt.
24.08.2024
Poem Poems Poetry Verse
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