Argos
..
Lying nose to paws in the shadow of the arched gate,

eyes fixed on the white, twisting road to the sea,

listening for the familiar footstep, the beloved voice

that urged me on as we raced together, over

the rocky mountainside, both young, both strong

of heart – how my voice echoed in the craggy

heights, belling out for stag, or wild boar:  all done,

all done with now as I twitch in half-dreams,

remembering, feeling that intoxicating rush again,

while the young men shout their curses – mangy cur,

flea-ridden beast, kicking me from the sunlit door,

throwing bones or stones when they see me lying,

patient in a patch of shade.  Age has crept up on me,

dimming my eyes but never the hope that draws

me to the open gate, watching, always waiting –

but I do not know now, how much longer I can wait;

I fear that soon, for me, there will be no more time.
.

(c) Helen Lowe

Previously published in Grow, Australia 2007

—

Argos is another poem from my Ithaca Conversation sequence, as is One Day, shared here on December 16.

As I first posted over a decade ago now, this poetry sequence reflects my long held love of myth and legend—and The Iliad and The Odyssey were among my earliest favourites. The power they exerted over my imagination is best evidenced by the way they continue to infiltrate my poetry and short fiction—and that the novels I write are centred around epic, legend and myth, both in what is loosely our world (Thornspell) and alternate worlds (The Wall of Night Series.)

Odysseus and Argos in “The Return” film

Argos (for those who may not know) was the favourite hound of Odysseus (also known as Ulysses among the Romans), King of Ithaca, who was absent from home for twenty years because of the Trojan war.  When Odysseus finally returned home, disguised as a beggar, the old hound still knew him, even after so long – but died on the night of his return. As a child I always found the story particularly moving, so was not surprised when the voice of Argos emerged through the Ithaca Conversations sequence.