Omeros

Philoctete is a fisherman on the island of Saint Lucia. He “smiles for the tourists” as he explains how canoes are manufactured (3). If the tourists pay him extra, he will show them a wound on his shin that refuses to heal. The wound was caused by a rusted anchor. The poem’s narrator, Derek Walcott, explains that the laurel woods on Saint Lucia are evidence of the history of European colonization on the island.

Achille, another fisherman, cuts down a laurel tree to make a canoe. The felled tree is like a “dead god” (6); it has fallen just like the old gods of the island fell. Achille fashions the felled tree into a pirogue, which is then blessed by a priest. Achille names the boat “In God We Troust” (8), refusing to alter his own spelling. He prepares to make his first voyage at dawn. He and the other fisherman drink absinthe together. This ritual pleases Achille, as the men stand together, “feeling their day begin” (9).

Hector is also a fisherman, as are Theophile, Placide, Pancreas, Chrysostom, Maljo, and Philoctete. As the men prepare, Philoctete feels overwhelmed by the pain from his wound.