To Odysseus                                                     


            Reluctant warrior, though
            Ruthless once enlisted in the fray,
            Master of stratagems,
            Sole survivor of the Sirens’ lure –

            I thought the reason I admired you
            So much was for your wiles and charm,
            Your bravery in battle, 
            The sweetness of your lies

            Until the seas came close to breaking me 

            One night I sang to her of my imaginings,
            And every sinew strained beyond its strength 
            As I explained that faithlessness 
            Led to fidelity and wandering 
            To a place of rest

            The others gathered too to hear,
            Once sated with their meats and wine,
            To taste of salt and face their 
            Underworld and know an Ithaka
            Far richer for my absence and return

            And I would have, like you,
            A peaceful ebb upon the waters of my birth
            For having yearned


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             Emanuel E. García, Sojourns2014