HOMER GOES TO COLLEGE

[Being the Odyssey-inspired story of Elder Daughter’s college search trip, told in sestina form rather than the original dactylic hexameter.]

Tell me, O Muse, sing with me of the story:
Of how our heroes, Elisson and his daughter
(The elder one), so enamored then of Boston,
checked out the places where she thought to study.
Begin the saga with the steel-eyed father,
calling up the airline. Frequent flyers, free of charge.

Arrived they then in Beantown, where the charge
of British redcoats (in that ancient story -
the one with Paul Revere, so said the father)
kicked off a revolution. O my daughter,
what is it that should make you want to study
in such a town as far away as Boston?

Throw any rock, you’ll hit a school in Boston.
And none of them are cheap: the yearly charge
at any of the ones our heroes study
’S enough to break the bank, friend. End of story.
But nothing is too good for Elder Daughter.
He’ll foot the bill - no Beemer for this father,

because he is a good and doting father.
His purpose now on Earth - at least, in Boston,
must solely point toward educating daughter.
Though cost be large, he rises to the charge.
Tuition, though, is but part of the story
of this voyage through New England. Let us study

our heroes’ route. Had they a map to study,
that interview at Brandeis for which father
showed up late might have been a different story.
As it was, meandering the twisty roads of Boston
Took time and many burgers. “Take charge
of your future,” Dad admonishes his daughter.

At restaurants along the way, the daughter
leaves scraps upon her plate while they both study
their plan to hit Vermont. The hotel charge
at Dartmouth is too steep (or so says Father)
for such a one-horse burg. We’re not in Boston.
Hey, Middlebury’s next. Now, what’s their story?

“In interviews, take charge,” advises Father.
If BU’s where she’ll wish to study, Boston
Must needs be home to daughter. Dorm? It’s multi-story.