In Every Culture, that Golden Vanity
“I am the cup of Nestor, a joy to drink from”
A twelve year old in Magna Graecia lay
Inside his tomb. Beside him was a cup
Of gold interred there. Wanting to convey
Sad hope, his family wanted him to sup
From it in afterlife felicity.
To make their wishes clear, echoing from
The Iliad, words spurned simplicity
In their inscription on the vessel. Numb
Grief spurred allusion to the greatest lines
They knew. The implication was that in
His dead existence he would drink the wines
Which bronze King Nestor raised. The boy would win
A regal strength to lift a heavy toast,
A heft of blackest gold, this once loved ghost.