SHROUD

Being hypochondriacs, the muses

Stayed away from me when I was ill

Except the very old one who brought me

An epic in Linear B about Laertes,

Odysseus' father. Laertes mostly

Mopes around the house; occasionally,

He works in the garden or gets drunk

With slaves and sailors. Towards the end

He sends a note to Penelope urging her

To find a less morbid occupation

Than working on his shroud. "I sailed

On the Argo. I am perfectly willing

To thrown into the sea, wrapped in a net."