Reeking Champ
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
“Achilles exists only through Homer.” ~ François-René de Chateaubriand in his preface to Les Natchez, 1826
“Achilles was a heel.” ~ Lapel badge from the mid-twentieth century
Achilles fills mythologies of Greece
Like body odor. He is like the hair
In underarms. His presence is obese
Because the smell of him is everywhere.
Perhaps this meant a lot to someone blind.
His whole society ignored the smell,
Though. He is like a rotting bacon rind
But men ignore this. Nothing can dispel
This brute, because of poetry. His ire
Ignored, his heroism held up for
Male worship, he refuses to expire,
Still stinking as he does for loving war.
..If Homer had not sung about this man,
….He might have petered out with his crude clan.
Raving for the Ravers
“Achilles exists only through Homer” ~ François-René de Chateaubriand in his preface to Les Natchez, 1826
Today the poets are the least of all,
Except for crude ones. If they curse and swear
With dirty words and if their lines appall
The decent, if mouths spew out grossness, blare
Out hatred and contempt for women, bitch
And ho, and so on, then their rapping sells.
They get recorded and they end up rich.
They cannot cast the noble, wondrous spells
That fashion heroes for the eons. Rhymes
And flailing rhythms are created to
Sell filth online. Let’s glorify vile crimes
Like rape, they chant. Ignore what’s great and true
And never speak of honor or a brave
Man. Spew out slime in one long ranting rave.