Death of Cygnus

1. At the walls of Troy,
2. A place once awed and admired,
3. An epic battle raged at her feet.
4. Swift footed Achilles tore through the Trojan lines,
5. Eyes searching for his prize,
6. But the life of Hector Tamer of Horses,
7. Would not be his to steal for years to come.
8. Instead here came Cygnus son of Neptune,
9. God of the sea.
10. His mighty arms plucked Greek soldier after soldier from the battlefield,
11. Throwing their souls into the dark underworld.
12. A worthy opponent indeed.
13. “Think yourself lucky,” Achilles bellowed,
14. “As you leave your pretty armor to me,
15. That it was Achilles who killed you.”
16. His deadly spear sped toward the Trojan's champion,
17. But…miraculously bounced harmlessly off his chest.
18. Achilles stared on in shock.
19. Cygnus’s taunting laughter pounded in his ears,
20. “To be the son not of a sea nymph like you,
21. But of Neptune, lord of the whole ocean, eh,
22. You’re going to have to do better than that, Greek,
23. If you want to kill me.”
24. At this time Cygnus threw his own spear,
25. Achilles raised his shield,
26. And felt the dull thud as the point nearly drilled all the way through.
27. Achilles returned fire,
28. Only to have the same result as before,
29. He might as well have been throwing toothpicks,
30. The way his spears bounded off Cygnus.
31. Achilles, angry, began to doubt his own strength.
32. He gathered his fallen spears,
33. And for good effect,
34. Hurled one through the soft body of a nearby Lycain.
35. He watched the man crumble dead to the ground.
36. Satisfied in his skill, Achilles hurled the same spear at Cygnus,
37. His eyes saw blood,
38. But his brain failed to tell him,
39. It was from the man he’d just killed,
40. And not from Neptune’s son.
41. He charged at the uninjured Cygnus and pounced on him,
42. Achilles blade shattered his helmet and shield with its frantic blows,
43. But Cygnus remained whole and unharmed.
44. On the contrary, it was the blade of Achilles that suffered,
45. The sharp edges turning soft like lead.
46. In a rage of despair and frustration,
47. Achilles rammed his shield into Cygnus’s face,
48. Crushing the nose like a soft pair.
49. He brought his sword pommel down,
50. Slamming it into the top of Cygnus’s head.
51. In this berserker state,
52. Achilles repeated this action until the skull caved in.
53. Thus was the death of Cygnus, son of Neptune.
54. But Achilles would go without his spoils,
55. For Neptune had spirited his sweet son away,
56. On the white wings of a bird.

Note: Lines 13-15, 20-21, 45, 48 were taken from the Ted Hugh's translation.