A Krater: Achilles And Ajax Playing Backgammon

I forget, precisely, how their bodies are composed,

But I see them with helmets and attenuated limbs,

Powerful shoulders, delicate, feminine hands;

A slender spear propped lightly on each shoulder

Supports an arm, or relaxed, undangerous fist.

They're waiting for the fighting to begin,

And meanwhile it's amusing to consider

The progress of a trivial game of chance.

An inattentive hand collects the dice,

And sets the game in motion with a toss.

The numbered knuckles rattle on the board,

And a sequence, a senseless set of pairs

Begins: eleven, four, twelve, cat's eyes, seven,

Then four again, and suddenly they've changed,

They're leaning over the progress of the dice

Transfixed, almost stupid in their rapt attention:

When fortune speaks-in any form-they listen.

Structure

17 lines · 4 stanzas