Telemachus Sends Her Away

36Then spoke discreet Telemachus again:
“Mother, in all Achaia there is none
Who has more power than I can claim, to grant
Or to deny the bow to whom I will.
No one of those who rule the rugged coast
Of Ithaca, or isles where Elis breeds
Her mares, may interpose to thwart my will,
If on the stranger I bestow the bow
To be his own, and bid him take it hence.
Withdraw, O queen, into your bower; direct
Your household tasks, the distaff and the web,
And bid your maidens speed the work. The bow
Belongs to men, and most to me; for here,
Within these walls, the authority is mine.”

37The queen, astonished, heard him and withdrew,
But kept her son’s wise sayings in her heart.
And then ascending to her bower, among
Her maids, she wept her well-beloved lord,
Odysseus, till the blue-eyed Athena came,
And poured upon her lids the balm of sleep.