The New Sisyphus

author’s note:

I believe this new version of the Sisyphus myth to be more accurate than the one from Ancient Greece.


THE NEW SISYPHUS

An inner drive of mysterious origin
goads this goat
to climb a mountain
every blessed day.

Dizzy with these heights
I try to create some stability
by seeing my world clearly--
I try to take it all in

and as I digest
I am well nourished.

So I don’t feel discouraged
in the morning when I wake to find
one more peak to climb.

Yes, I must start at the bottom
but that base rises from the summit
of the mountain I just surmounted.
Thus, I’m making progress.

Howeverv sometimes I feel so tired.
In frustration, I may then announce:
I just might stop right here right now.

Not merely a wish--
I know the gods would allow me.
I do have free will.

But I also know:
if left unfed
this drive would try to satisfy its hunger
by devouring the one
who sat down in defiance
and said
“I have seen enough.”

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