I have always rather admired Odysseus and his trickster ways. A man who could not keep his mouth shut until it was absolutely necessary. If you haven't read the Odyssey then you should, if only for it's allegorical tale of a veteran returning home and the difficulties everyone faces.
I mention this because I reference Calypso in the following poem. Calypso ensnared Odysseus on his homeward journey from Troy and kept him in thrall for many years. The poem proposes that the main character is his own Calypso in that he creates his own fantasy to enthrall himself.
he is his own calypso
though he misses the reference
and hates the music
bewitched as he is by his escape plan
there is better than here
where he has failed to make a go of it
this land being cursed
as are all the places he has left behind
but over the hill
up the motorway
lies real promise
everything will be so different
The Pleasures of Alfresco Alcohol
they do not understand
the beneficence of drink
how it grants distance
smooths out life’s wrinkles
they badger him
and he hides his habit
evenings spent
on park benches
slowly observing
the clouds change shape
a tin of the cheapest Pilsner
warm in his hand
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