What are heroes made of?
[Warning: a nursery rhyme stereotyping the sexes will appear.]
What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails and puppy dogs' tails.
That's what little boys are made of.
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and all things nice.
That's what little girls are made of.
Psyche's House
Ancient heroes from the neighborhood
gather at the corner pub
trading narcissistic strategies
for escape from the siren songs
too eerie to ignore.
Despite Tiger Balm and Tylenol
rubbed and guzzled with pints of golden calories-
it's impossible to turn Helen's head
and launch anew
odyssey at dawn.
Universal Achilles' heels ache in unison.
The Graces failed in their mission:
Outwit Three Fates, or else…
Belly up to the bar boys,
and totter home tipsy.
Hollow victories haunt Psyche's house.
Where's Hercules when you need him?
-LJ, Sept. 2008
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