issue 29 > poetry > slavitt

CHORUS OF TROJAN WOMEN


FIRST CHORISTER

How can we believe what a Greek says?
Their lives are lies and even silent
they breathe treachery.
He is a Greek and therefore, whatever he says,
we should kill him.
Only when his blood pours onto the ground
can the Trojans trust him.


SECOND CHORISTER

He hates the Greeks as much as we do
or more because, when they drew lots,
the procedure was rigged so he was chosen.
His was to be the last human blood they spilled
on our gore-soaked shore.
In terror and in hatred then he fled
and he comes to us to do us good.


THIRD CHORISTER

His arrival is a blessing.
The wooden horse is meant as a gift
to Athena. What harm then can there be
if we join in doing honor to her?
Now that the Greeks are gone,
we can rejoice.
But the favor of a goddess, let us remember,
is always welcome.






Also by David Slavitt:

A Chorus from Cassandra