"To Troy, I went not: that . . . a phantom was"
Helen to Menelaus, Euripides

He didn't mention otherworldly phenomena.
Why would he? It was nothing

more than letting
of steam in some nasty dream where lost inhibition

means he was drunk again.
He didn't mention the music. She heard it

when he phoned. It sounded like an awful clue
there was no champagne

room, that the tips didn't have to be discreet,
that the strippers

were the same he explained as lighting
a cigarette.

He may as well smoke it while he watches tits,
arse and legs slipping

around the poles
that could replace the vacant room

where he is Menelaus
romping with naked nymphs. He

doesn't mention he's married
to the most beautiful women in the world.

She may as well be a phantom.
She may as well be a memory only

remembered
when he sees her bare breasts.