War Worn Hands
after Archilochus
scars on my knuckles from the shield strap raw skin new wounds
summer’s end harvest festival I’ll drink and forget for a night
my fingers stiff from gripping the spear the weight of it still in my arm
I took Archilochus' focus on the brutal realities of war and everyday life, and applied it to a scene of a warrior's worn hands. His use of simple, earthy words and paratactic syntax also influenced the poem's tone and structure.