Another Failed Poem About The Greeks By Sandra Beasley

In the poem, “Another Failed Poem About the Greeks” by Sandra Beasley, it describes a first date between someone and a Greek god. The composition takes place at what appears to be some sort of carnival or fair, throughout it uses ambiguous language and presents interesting moments the two share. In this poem it talks about a date not going anywhere but not by saying it directly and leaving enough hints to pick up the mood of the date, just like how Beasley also avoids saying who the specific Greek God is but leaves enough hints for the reader to know who it is.

The poem starts off by describing the Greek god; it describes how his sword is bloodied and his helmet gleaming. In line 2 Beasley writes “He dragged a Gorgon's head behind him.” Although

Switching from modern to ancient languages helps to really tell the difference between the two. In line 13 it reads “He said Again.” almost as if he was a child and it was his first experience on a roller coaster, while the narrator makes it seem like it's normal to them. Another way this is expressed is in line 15 that says “We went on the pirate ship three times.” The line continues to show the unfamiliarity the Greek god has with this ride by repeatedly riding it. The last line that subtly shows how different his character is to the narrator is in line 18-20, “And he cried out Area! Waving his sword until the operator asked him to please keep all swords inside the car.” The Greek god wielding his sword around on a carnival ride also shows that he is not aware of the danger he opposes to others. The imagery Beasley describes truly expresses how odd of a spectacle it would be to experience. By the end of the poem the subtle lines about their differences soon ended by Beasley who obviously wrote “He said We should do this again sometime, though we both knew it would never happen since he was Greek, of course, and dead, and somewhere a maiden rattled in her chains.” These lines complete the poem and end the ambiguity that the poem is full of and is a brilliant parallel, referencing back to the future wife he is destined to marry one