Sisyphus is no completist,
rolling his huge boulder
up a steep incline for all time.

He was an excellent opportunist,
entangling with his enemy’s progeny
lying in the weeds to sow bad seeds.

Sisyphus was undoubtedly devious,
killing off his house guests with
iron fists before their nightly rests.

Sisyphus was mighty mischievous,
selling the roving river’s secret.
Sentence explained, Death left chained.

Sisyphus was no defeatist,
defiling his body to everybody
just to walk once more the living shore.

The penalty for cut-throated
beating and cheating?
A lifetime of incompleting.
A boulder that gets no older,
and a useless task, not worth repeating.

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NaPoWriMo Day 12–This one is called “Past and Future.” This prompt challenges you to write a poem using at least one word from each of two specialty dictionaries: Lempriere’s Classical Dictionary –Sisyphus and the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction–completist. Join us in verse.