Ancient Youthful Masculinity
Eight hundred years before the Christ was born,
Oympic games rose up in glory, sweat,
And blood. On hairy bodies (that were shorn
Of clothing) manly arms and torsos met
And grappled, struggles complicated by
The slickness on the skin of wettened oil,
Increased by drench of salt attacking eye
And dripping off the lip from fearsome toil.
A complex movement from male muscles slung
A discus, heaved another man, and grabbed
~Wikipedia
A wrist, strained forward in a race, or flung
A javelin up towards the gods—or jabbed
A thumb in eyeball hole. They had no room
For failure. Only victory staved off doom.