01/06/2026
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | Achilles' Heel
They say it was Hector's sword that killed you; I beg to differ.
I know the truth behind your gruesome murder.
A weapon may have caused you to cease breathing.
But it was my pride that prompted your soul's passing.
It was an error in my judgment; I should've known better
I was a hero, of course whatever I loved would wither and suffer
Nevertheless I took a chance with you, thinking I was an exemption
But fate always had a habit of turning hope into delusion
As you lay lifeless in my arms, your blood trickling into the linen of my garment
I was afflicted with anguish that could rival a deadly ailment
My inflamed ego never allowed me to kneel down in front of anyone before
But at that moment, I knelt, cradling your body until I couldn't feel my knees anymore.
People wonder why your death brought me great devastation
They thought you were just a comrade with whom I held conversation
But nothing of this world could ever come close to the importance you hold
You weigh more than a war prizeโs worth of silver and gold.
There's a fine line between being called friends and lovers
But are we really friends when I find myself gazing at you a little longer?
When I find myself gravitating towards you in the midst of the crowd?
Or when our close proximity makes my heart grow loud?
I could recognize you no matter what kind of armor was draped over you.
I know how your lies differed from the things you swore were true.
I could write a thousand poems to make you a psalter.
I would make my soul your temple and my heart your altar.
Maybe in another life, we wouldn't have to end up this way.
I would've loved to hold your hand as we bask in the sunlight of midday.
But alas, our story was bound to be a perpetual melancholy.
Nevertheless, I don't regret loving you, my greatest Greek tragedy.
My love for you, Patroclus, isn't something I want scribes to conceal.
I want the world to know that you will always be my true Achillesโ heel.
โ๏ธ: Eliza Carmela B. Lazatin
๐จ& ๐ป: Christine Angel C. Mercado
