Book One (Iliad)

Introduction 

{Definition: An 'oil check' is an unofficial, illegal wrestling maneuver when applied in freestyle wrestling.  One wrestler inserts one, or more, finger(s) into another wrestler's rectum. The point of doing so- without a referee noticing- is to distract the insertee long enough for the inserter to try something else to reverse the match, escape, or gain control according to the rules. It is unofficial because while fingers are expressly prohibited from being inserted into openings- a wrestler's eyes, ears, nose, mouth- the rectum is not mentioned.

Definition: A nut check is an unofficial, illegal, wrestling maneuver when applied in freestyle wrestling. One wrestler places a hand between the legs of another wrestler but instead of moving onto a leg, grabs the testicles (or penis). The point of doing so- without a referee noticing- is to distract the wrestler handled long enough for the handler to try something else to reverse the match, or gain control according to the rules.}

NMTASU. No more than a suitable undergarment could be worn per rules governing wrestling weigh-ins at the high school and college levels. Newspaper photos from the Midwest of naked male swim team members talking about a meet. Naked male swim team members with female team members wearing tank top suits. Why?

This is a book of minimalist poetry which, while grounded in facts, in nonfiction, attempts to portray how things were, probing at why. The ancient Greeks are the starting point, the 'Iliad' run along with the games played at an all boys prep school circa 1969. 

Fate: Prominent in Homer's 'Iliad,' in ancient Greece, was fate, whether weighed by Zeus's scale, or foretold. In the absence of an Apollo, or an Athena, the fates of two wrestlers of equal weight might seem unchangeable during a match, but should one of them wonder if....

Body awareness: Boys of the period were used to seeing the bodies of other boys. They showered together following any after school sport. Wrestlers weighed-in naked, first standing on line in their briefs, within their own, or a competing team's, locker room, stepping onto the scale with briefs off, or naked the whole time on long lines in gyms during tournaments. 

Body contact: Men who wrestled in ancient Greece used their upper bodies to lift, and throw, opponents. Boys who wrestled in modern, freestyle events used hands- holds- to maneuver an opponent from a standing, or kneeling, position onto their backs for a pin. They needed to demonstrate control of an opponent during a match.

New 

Boys stood

Face forward 

In undershorts-

One stood fully nude, 

Forswore wearing any-

In hall outside locker room.

His

Priest knelt,

Dishonoured

Because daughter, 

Chryseis, still held,

Agamemnon had spurned

Ransom gifts, supplications.

His

Classroom 

Surrounded 

By ancient texts,

Worn copies, vintage 

Translations lectured to

Decades of classics scholars.

Boys

Had been 

Told, 'Find a

Locker, take off

Everything, shorts, too,

Line up by door for your 

Heights and weights, then photographs.'

His

Silver 

Arrows shot,

Achaians struck

For nine days, until 

Kalchas asked to divine 

Source of Apollo's anger.

His

Meeting 

With boys as 

School athletic 

Director let him 

Reminisce on decades

Of scholastic achievements.

Shoes

Dropped, shirts

Unbuttoned, 

Hung, pants unzipped,

Hooked, socks rolled down, balled,

Old school boys formed line in 

Boxers, public school in briefs.

Pressed

To yield

Priest's daughter

Without ransom

To end Apollo's

Assault, Agamemnon 

Relented for a new prize.

Framed

Inside 

Gym entrance,

Surnames brothers,

Past graduates' sons,

Athletic prospects gleaned

From sepia team photos. 

Staked

Their claims,

With merits 

Proven under 

Adverse conditions

To prime positions on 

Varsity football lineup.

Since

It was 

Achilles 

Who sought Kalchas,

Agamemnon, forced 

To yield Chryseis, took 

Achilles' prize, Briseis.

The

Third form

Housemaster 

Sat at a desk,

Smiled as he checked off 

Their last names, then waited

To register scale results.

Each

Boy stepped 

On scale, faced

Football coach, who

Slid black weights across 

Beam, called out weight, asked to 

Turn around, lowered head bar.

Zeus

Was begged

By Thetis

To let Trojans 

Surpass Achaians 

In fighting until forced 

To atone to Achilles.

Once

Weighed, boy

Escorted 

By director 

To lighted storage 

Closet, door closed, told, 'Shorts

Off,' 'Front,' Side,' 'Back,' photographed.

Boys

Picked up 

Towels rolled with

T-shirt, jockstrap,

Socks, at gym counter,

Walked to basketball court,

Where tables held equipment.

Zeus

Nodded

His assent,

Placed himself at

Odds with Hera who

Questioned his decisions

Over the fates of mortals.

School 

Darkroom 

Developed, 

Printed copies,

Director transcribed

Jotted down posture notes,

BMI calculations.

{18 stanzas/page}