Minotaur

I We delighted in the sweetness of grass. We rejoiced in the fragrance of rain. We sought only readiness in sleep. TOGETHERNESS was our motto. Our desires entwined like summer vines. We drank wine pressed from the purest grapes. We anointed our heads with fresh oils. Who can tell us this was not love? II Must I burn my dearest book? Must I rip the yellow threads from my favorite gown? Must I choke on the choicest fruits? Must I sleep always in an unlocked room? Yes, yes, yes... yes. III Some of us are innocent. Some of us claim innocence in firm voices. Some of us stammer, fall silent, then start over, with bowed heads. All of us are on the move. I, for instance, have loaded a cart with my things. It contains everything I need for eternal life, The weight is crushing my remaining strength. I can no longer look at what's ahead. I twist backwards, staring at the grooves my heavy cart carves. Is this the path my friends will follow? Will my enemies find it first? Should I hoard these things, or discard them? IV Escape by sea! Stride on board, grab hold of the mast, turn the sail into the wind. Throw back your horned head and bellow again and again. Escape by sea? Crawl along the wet sand, adjust the broken sword in your gut, gaze across the water. Throw back your horned head and howl. V Finally, this is my fate. This is my drawn-out end: stumbling, panting, waving my mighty arms in the unresisting air. A child walks ahead of me, holding my rough hand, guiding my staff. She cradles sheaths of wheat and barley. Their fragrance reminds me of wide meadows, of tilled fields I crossed without fear during my days of glory. Now, just a shaking outcast, I stretch out my hand and touch the girl's hair. She does not shiver or recoil. Such a joy I never knew before.