Size / / /
Mists of the amygdala lift
to reveal old Crete and a maze.
Slow-shoulder enthroned, bull’s eye-
wise, the bare-chested minotaur
holds a scepter:
Khronos in labyrinthine space,
time unified in Knossos.
Cairo’s star is fixed over Greece.
The footsteps of dread Ariadne
echo, entombed in amazonite.
Khronos’ eyes, the tireless eyes of a bull, shimmer.
Cleopatra dances with Rome while Carthage burns.
Suspended in his left hand, a lockless box—
obsidian, emeralds, silvered rubies—
bearing the word love.
Murderous Theseus, amazed,
blinded by the eclipse of his red intent,
catches eyes in a multi-faceted orb—
eyes grey and distant gazing
on Hippolytus as he drowns.