Penelope

Odysseus retired to his own realm
to bask in sunsets with Penelope.
Laid down his oar, relinquished his ship's helm--
let others teach Telemachos the Sea.
Athena's living image, here on Earth,
the wife a king aspires to, if he's wise
a partner of inestimable worth.
Let fools chase Aphrodite's wiles and lies.
Grey gulls scream on Aiaia's wintry shore
as if no Spring could ever come again.
Grave Circe's washed her hands of kings, and war;
there's too  much pain tied to the lives of men.
The poet's hero came unscathed through Troy
by steering always toward his one true joy.