Marathon

Pheidippides fell,
Gasping for Marathon,
Spurned by the flame that some unnamed other
Raised from his cooling grasp.

This deed is remembered
Not by the name
Of the man who died,
But the place that killed him --

For it is always easy to name
The place where flame has passed,
Hard to recall
Distorted faces
Suffering under the light they bear.

© 1983