Odysseus as Superintendent
Bandy-legged and barrel-chested,
with a bit of gut above the belt-cinched waist,
bronzed by life under sun
though not Aegean sun,
he oversees the small addition
rising in cinderblock and skeletal steel
outside my office window-
ten auto service bays with heat, no air.
No king of Ithaca, but of each
whining, banging, dust—clouded island
of focused, physical work
responsibility takes him. He pulls a tape
to mark the bearing points of joists.
Not Odysseus. But aren't we all
Odysseus? Self-indulgent, devious
as circumstances warrant, curious,
brave enough to soldier on
through whims of pissy gods and
unexpected weather. And clever, too,
enough to keep the sea
from sucking us down,
always with something like an Ithaca
to rope us back each time
the wine dark waves sing sweetly
of the calm beneath
the troubled surface of the sea.
with a bit of gut above the belt-cinched waist,
bronzed by life under sun
though not Aegean sun,
he oversees the small addition
rising in cinderblock and skeletal steel
outside my office window-
ten auto service bays with heat, no air.
No king of Ithaca, but of each
whining, banging, dust—clouded island
of focused, physical work
responsibility takes him. He pulls a tape
to mark the bearing points of joists.
Not Odysseus. But aren't we all
Odysseus? Self-indulgent, devious
as circumstances warrant, curious,
brave enough to soldier on
through whims of pissy gods and
unexpected weather. And clever, too,
enough to keep the sea
from sucking us down,
always with something like an Ithaca
to rope us back each time
the wine dark waves sing sweetly
of the calm beneath
the troubled surface of the sea.
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Author's Note
Shit happens. We adjust and write it down.
Other stories by Gary Hardaway
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Man, wonderful, Gary!
Absolutely!
Thanks, Matt. My proofreader let me use the wrong waist, btw. Need to have a Word with him.
Great piece.
Thank you, Sam.
I love when moments from everyday life are captured, repackaged and presented as something extraordinary.
This is extraordinary.
Thank you so very much, Sally.
Love this. Bravo!
*
Odysseus, yes. And you write like Homer. *
whims of pissy gods indeed
*
Thank you, Bill. Am very pleased you like it.
J. Mykell, thanks for the reading and the best compliment ever!
So glad you like the pissy gods, Con. I tried several other adjectives as I worked on this but pissy just seems to fit best.
Thanks for reading.
"And clever, too,
enough to keep the sea
from sucking us down." Well, we hope so. Good stuff.
Excellent, a modern Homer, indeed.
Thanks, Gary. The sea keeps calling us back to our original slime so we'll stop dumping our crap and plastics.
Thanks very much, D.