The Voyage of a King

If you’ve ever been to a bakery 
First thing in the morning
The scents are so seductive
With an endless line now forming.

After forty full days
of fasting in the desert 
The first thing the fiend said –
If thou truly be the Son of God
Command these stones
be made bread.

When Odysseus’ men
ate the Sun God’s cattle
They were starving at sea
after years of heavy battle. 
If you’ve ever really been hungry
consider that drive 
The burning meat screamed
as if it were still alive.

Away from the fire the steaks
shifted and crawled
But that didn’t stop the sailors – didn’t stop them at all. 
For the sackers of Troy –
It’s not what they planned 
Starving down to nothing,
slow death Bobby Sands. 
Better to eat like a warrior
and then die like a man.

Was that written by Homer
or maybe Stephen King
The cold truth that hunger
is so terrible a thing
And after you’ve tasted
comes that awful reckoning
For taking what you wanted
just to hear the Sirens sing.

You had Poseidon on your neck
for the blinding of his son
And stating proudly to the Cyclops why the brutal deed was done
You gave him your full name
and even your address 
Slipped up that once only
but pride is such a mess.
He murdered everyone at sea
and left you to drift around 
Like Ishmael on his coffin
never rescued, never found.

Did you think then of Penelope
waiting at her loom 
To take you to heaven
and never leave your room. 
With a woman like that
you have no reason to roam 
Two always in love
and two always at home.
It was not in your nature,
Never at a Loss,
Seeing people as they are
at so tremendous a cost.

A man comes full circle
and gets to know himself
If there is love at the end,
you can say he’s gained real wealth. 
Don’t travel so far next time
Most Curious One
Resourceful, brilliant king
with the troubles never done. 
Sailing to new islands
and then sailing out again
That as the leaves
is a generation of men.