Achilles's Hell

he knows himself
or he thinks he knows himself
because to know himself
is to love himself
and he does not love

he gets a letter
dated 2003
what happened in 2003
he thinks
are there coincidences

she says
who really talks like that
and he says i do
i want to know what mission
i am on

being on a mission
is also an archaic practice
he says
i want to know
the difference between

the loaded cock
and the unloaded
and the reason
balloons are filled with air
and not earth and the reason

balloons smell like sex
and sex doesn't smell like
anything else and her letters
like maps cannot be folded
the same way twice

and she says
forgetting is also
an art and he says he knows
but knowledge is not enough
and she says

he knows himself
or he thinks he knows himself
because to know himself
is to love her
and he loves