Minotaur

inspired by Hans Erni's "Jeune Fille et le Minotaure"

Everything’s immediate in myth and art.
Splinters of divine shuffled like a deck of cards,
Hearts of gods and kings softened by love,
hardened by revenge.
A thread of magic woven through a labyrinth
to save a faithless hero.
Had she had the vision to love the Beast,
his muscled backside black, his white eye wild
with passion, his horns curved and graceful,
her fate loose in his meaty hands….
He’s less than half an animal, only the head,
a kindly god who knows he’s not a shameful monster.
Seven young men and women sacrificed each year
to keep a vile secret: the king’s wife seduced by
the sea god’s bull.
Blood and sorrow, calligraphy of the past.
Now, here is a new myth: there is dread in her eyes
but courage enough to risk delight.
This story ends in magnitude and the gladness of loving.