Ekphrastic poetry by Sarah Wyman

Based on Cy Twombly's "Fifty Days at Iliam. Shades of Achilles, Patroclus, and Hector"

Achilles

Based on Cy Twombly's Fifty Days at Iliam. Shades of Achilles, Patroclus, and Hector (1978)

Maybe his eyes were closed 
when he scrawled the heroes’ names
in red crayon, 
block letters big over newsprint
with his non-dominant hand, 
like a little kid on all fours 
atop a barren field of paper
unrolling towards the corner.

And then the paints come out,
brush-spilled abundantly,
fury of blood rising with the entry into battle 
round and round, vengeance-fueled 
swinging sword or bristles 
like a fiery king in a metal helmet.

Sporting his horsehair crest 
as though sweeping the dusty clouds
grays smear circular, 
lightening the blood to rose
Achilles inflamed with rage,
blinded in the fray of clashing blades.

His Briseis trophy taken,
an Agamemnon swipe,
and on the Trojan battlefield
dear Patroclus dead,
disguised as himself at the swordtip
of an avenging Hector.

No children’s play 
on the scene of slaughter 
where babies are quarry
and the sandals fill with silt.

---

About the Poet:

Sarah Wyman lives in the Hudson Valley where she writes and teaches about literature and the visual art. She co-facilitates the Sustainability Faculty Learning Community at SUNY New Paltz and teaches poetry workshops at Shawangunk Prison. Her poetry has appeared in aaduna, Mudfish, Ekphrasis, San Pedro River Review, Potomac Review, Lightwood, Heron Clan XI, A Slant of Light: Contemporary Women Poets of the Hudson Valley, and other venues. Two books as well: Sighted Stones (FLP 2018) and Fried Goldfinch (Codhill 2021).