Click play below to listen to a reading of this poem by the author.
Noble Teiresias,
turn not away,
I beseech thee,
for I have come
in search of wisdom
and the sight
that springs from sightlessness.
Yet tho’ I have
journeyed far and
suffered much,
still thou mockest me,
setting before me
only alimentary temptation.
Oh holiest of hecatombs!
Thou must surely think me daft,
oh seer of Thebes.
Doest thou honestly believe
I would travel so far,
struggle so hard,
for mere bagels and cream cheese?
Nay, ‘tis council I seek.
and no mere palaver.
Put down thy fork,
oh wise one,
and bestow upon me,
if you will,
that boundless perspicacity
of which
the resourceful Odysseus did sing.
For I would learn.
I would know.
And only when
wisdom’s feast is complete,
and my hunger sated,
will I then partake of
your french toast,
and taste of your strawberries.
Teiresias the Theban was blinded by Athena for accidentally seeing her bathing. He was though given the gift of prophecy in exchange for his affliction. Odysseus journeys to the underworld to consult with Teiresias concerning how he might assuage Poseidon and expedite his return to Ithaca.