I was at the Agora
when I accidentally noticed
Achilles hiding in the shadow
of the lonely olive tree
the last greenery in the heart of Athens

You are dead, I said, the dead
do not associate with the living.
How wrong can you be, he said,
I am more alive now
after two thousand years
than I have ever been

Look around
I am in every history book
in every school
in every poem
in every treatise
I am known by all
as it was prophesied
What more should I ask?

The great equalizer
stood by the bed
watching his laborious breathing
and the pain quaking the emaciated body.

It's almost time.

No more layoffs to increase profits
lock-outs to break the unions
hidden caches to avoid taxes
mergers and acquisitions
under the table payments
price fixing, loan sharking
no bribing and extortions
no naive women to exploit

The great equalizer
stood there watching
with pity and loathing
patiently waiting
The end of the line.