The Shade of Argos
This is a poem about the ghost of Odysseus' famous dog, Argos, whose
story is told by Homer in the Odyssey.
No marble vault houses my freezing clay,
Eaten by ticks and maggots in the dung
From which, after a twenty year delay,
I saw our king return, his tale unsung,
Before unfailing death had stilled my lungs.
My ears drew back; I watched him hide a tear.
The air turned black, left me no time to fear.
Once a keen hunter scents could not deceive,
I alone knew him in his beggar’s gear.
No theriomorphic god, my love perceived.
© 1995 Sam Gold
