Author's Note: My attempt at poetically expressing my love of the Iliad. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Achilles

Doomed to death and glory-

A life short-lived but etched in song

Or to life long and unremembered

Pride insulted and prizes stolen

The long life tastes sweet

Upon the embittered tongue

To return to Peleus, aged father and King

And leave the walls of Troy

To the hands of greedy Agamemnon.

But, alas, such was not the way of Fate

And it was to a glorious end

That Fate had condemned fair Thetis' son.

For into the battle went Patroclus,

Gleaming in his highborn kinsman's arms

And to honored Hector's spear he fell.

Weeping Achilles mourned through the night

And to him came his divine mother

Setting new arms in his vengeful hands.

Grief rekindled the wrath of Achilles

For next morn he stood god-like above all-

none saw the red-rims 'round the fire of his eyes.

Into battle did he stride, glorious as Ares

And all that saw him fled or fell

Even dauntless Hector ran on before him.

Alas for Hector, who was cradled by Death,

Wrathful Achilles would show no pity

For the slaying of his beloved friend.

He took the body of illustrious Hector

Pulling it ruthlessly behind his cart

And the Trojans knew their doom had come.

Though the death of Patroclus would ne'er be avenged

At the last, Achilles yielded Hector's corpse

To aged Priam, loving father of his son

For Achilles knew his end was nigh

And at last the invincible child of Thetis

Was shot and slain before Troy's Walls.

Though ancient Achaea be now a land of dust

Bards sing still of the Wrath of Achilles,

That hero doomed to death and glory.