Rowing the Boat

Poem inspired by a guy named Tony...

I saw a galley out on the horizon,

Making for the shore.

There was a man in the hull rowing steady,

But there was no one else on board.

When the vessel crawled up on the shoreline,

I saw the weather-beaten face of the man.

“Who,” I said, “Are you, and whence do you come?

And what brings you to this land?”

He said, “I come from a land called Ithaca,

But I’ve long been away at war.

And I’ve been out at sea for a while now,

Before I wound up at your shore.

“It seems that the gods are against me,

And even more against my men.

We’ve gotten lost in the storms they’ve sent me,

And I don’t know where I am.

“But I keep rowing the boat

Tryna find my way back home.”

So I said, “Stranger, won’t you stay for the night?

And tell me more about this story of yours?

It’s been raining quite hard for a while now,

And it’s bound to rain some more.”

He said, “I’d like to stay, but I really must go;

If you were me, I’m sure you’d do the same.

I’ve got a boy back home, who must now be fully grown,

And a wife who some other man might claim.

“It’s been 18 years worth of troubles and toils

And my spoils from battle are gone.

So if I make it back alive, I’ll have nothing to show

For the terrible war we’ve won.

But I’m still rowing the boat

Tryna find my way back home.”

So I sent him away with bread and water,

Enough to fill the belly of a king,

To find his son and wife, whom I pray he finds alive,

And as he sailed away, I heard him sing:

“May gray-eyed Athena guide my boat.

May gray-eyed Athena keep me safe,

For I don’t know how much longer

I’ll endure Poseidon’s rage.

But I’ll keep rowing the boat

Until I find my way back home.”