Sestina: The Return From Troy

The warriors of Greece leave Troy at last.
Ten years of siege before those walls so strong,
Have tired the warring Hellene lords and men.
To thoughts of hearth and home their minds return.
Traverse Poseidon's realm in flimsy craft,
To seek their wives and kinfolk back at home.

To seek their wives and kinfolk back at home,
The Hellenes and their kings depart at last.
Embarking now for home in many craft,
They brave the tides and currents wild and strong.
Poseidon's blessings sought for their return,
With noble sacrifices made by men.

With noble sacrifices made by men,
The weary war with Troy, so far from home,
Fought hard and long, yet yielding poor return.
And now, the fighting finished there at last,
By trickery he breached those walls so strong:
The wily lord Odysseus and his craft.

The wily lord Odysseus, and his craft,
Are readied for departure by his men,
Who fought for Helen's honour hundreds strong,
Who now take little thought for aught but home.
And now with swelling sails they leave at last,
Across Poseidon's kingdom they return.

Across Poseidon's kingdom they return,
But other plans the god has for their craft.
From Troy the Ithacans shall reach port last,
The winds and waves of fate shall rule the men,
For ten long years they'll see no sight of home,
The victims of a malice fierce and strong.

The victims of a malice fierce and strong,
Adventurers desiring a return
To kinsmen, wives and children still at home.
Unlooked-for perils long delay their craft,
And much endure Odysseus' men,
Until they reach their haven safe at last.

By wile and craft the Ithacans return,
The long-enduring men still stay so strong,
Until, at last, the sea-tossed band reach home.