Max Gutmann

The Deaths of Hector and Achilles  
    From Seeing Things

On Hector's death I'm silent; I'd be mad
To vie against the great climactic scene
Of honored Homer's epic Iliad,
A top best-seller now since 615
B.C. Suffice to say the match between
Troy's two best warriors and Greece's hero
Was scored: Achilles 2, the Trojans 0.

He didn't, though, enjoy the triumph long,
For wily Paris snuck around and shot
Him in the heel so famed in tale and song,
Which was his only vulnerable spot.
The world's most famous body part? There's not
A bunch of other candidates to pick:
Rapunzel's hair, I guess, or Don Juan's smile. 

Max Gutmann has contributed to dozens of publications including New Statesman, Able Muse, and Cricket. His plays have appeared throughout the U.S. and have been well-reviewed (see maxgutmann.com). His book There Was a Young Girl from Verona sold several copies. This poem is an excerpt from Seeing Things, a novella-length comic narrative which tells the Troilus and Cressida story, focusing on Cressida’s father, the seer Calchas.