Argos

So after 20 years Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he disgues himself as a beggar to have his revenge on and justice for the suitors. They have despoiled his house, and abused his wife and child. In their greedy quest for the wealth and power which would come to the new husband of Penelope.

It has been so long that no one recognises our hero. No one but his faithful hound. Odysseus can not allow himself to be unmasked by the loyal dog.

A nice sad piece from the Odyssey.  My translation, so all the errors and deviations are entirely my own.

---

And so in this way to one another they spoke.
And the old dog sleeping raised his head his ears .
Stout-hearted master reared Argos, but was not able to enjoy
Before to holy Ilius he went. At first the young men
Brought the dog to hunt the wild goat, deer and rabbits.
Now he lay despised, abandoned his master, on the heaping
Mule and cattle dung - the slaves spread the wide acres
Of Ithaca. So lay the dog Argos, full of ticks and fleas.
He became aware of Odysseus presence. He wagged his tail
And both ears dropped. No longer able, he had not the strength
To reach the wily one. The eyes of the hero swelled
Tears, deceiving his friend he turned away. And asked,
'Eumaeus, how strange this dog that lies in dung
For he seems to have been a handsome beast. I do not know
If he is as swift as he appears, or if he is the type of dog
Fed from tables, which men nurture for adornment.'
Answering, the swineherd spoke.
'If he were still in form and action
As when before Odysseus went to Troy
You would marvel at his quickness his strength.
None the wild animals he put to flight
Could escape him - deep in the dark forest.
He knew well how to track. Now he chases
Only misery. His master far from his homeland, dead.
The uncaring women no longer tend him.
For slaves when no longer ruled by masters
Are no longer willing an honest day's work.
Far seeing Zeus takes away half the excellence
Of men on the day they embrace slavery.'

    So saying he entered the comfortable house,
    Walking straight into the hall amid riotous banquet.

Outside,
At once,
Argos
His lot of dark death embraced,
Reunited with polutropos these twenty long years.

---

pic from: http://beetleinabox.tumblr.com/post/17605032538/ulysses-and-his-dog-illustration-from-the-1905

After The Rain

---

After three or four days of on and off rain
I step into the gloomy night to dormouse wise 
Feed my head and take the dog to walk; 
So as to not embarrass his doggy self, 
And damage the carpets, to relieve himself.

Like many small bits of paper, or plastic bags
That are caught up the wind and forced to dance
In wild Matisse lines of random arabesque 
Across the land; like the trees which bend and bow
To the strong winds, or walkers who are bent over
To fight pedestrian the blurting blasting gales. 
So to it seems as if mighty Orion is caught up 
And sent tumbling cartwheeling (caterwauling?) 
By the windy roaring insensate fourties
Across the night, one arm outstretched, 
His hand on the top of hill, pushing off. 

In the morning I organise my young daughter.
Back to school after holidays. I struggle
To wake and get myself into the groove,
Back into the beat after a lazy fortnight.
Make her breakfast, and serve it to her.
And while she chatterboxes away
Anticipating her new day at school,
I listen and make her lunch, spreading peanut 
Butter across the bread. A piece of fruit,
A little tub of yoghurt, home made cookies. 
I wash her face and hands, get her dressed.
As she watches Sesame Street, I dress myself.

And we leave the house, opening the door, 
Flooding the lounge room with the streaming
Sun, the excited, twittering songs of birds.
The rains are over, the water tank is full 
To overflowing, two, three snails crawl
The potted plants the porch. The wind 
Has blown away the wet spongy clouds.
There is and optimism is on the rise.