The Song of Achilles

I have done it, Patroclus thinks at the end, he finally sees the boy, not the armor.

Name one hero who was happy. I can't. So: sing it anyway.

Philtatos, most beloved. One word from Achilles did what no battle could.

Chiron taught medicine, music, war, and the boys learned love off-syllabus.

Thetis hated him for being mortal. The book's real antagonist is a mother's arithmetic.

Achilles' heel was never a heel. It was a boy with no armor at Troy.

They mixed our ashes together, as I had asked. The Iliad's grief, handed its flowers.

In the darkness, two shadows, reaching for each other. Last page. No notes.

Briseis' kindness toward Patroclus, the book lets women see clearly what heroes can't.

Carried out of it: legends are loud. Love is the part that whispers and wins.