Into the maze.

Two parting pathways before me.

Pale marble passages

Under a ceiling of stars.

Testing a track

Ti'l I hit a dead end

And then doubling back,

Starting over again.

And with trial and error and terror,

I passed through the dark.

And then, after a while,

I came to a circling staircase.

Winding and webbed with a

Network of smooth marble veins.

Stair after stair,

Climbing higher and higher.

The world lilting left

In the widening gyre,

Then suddenly stopping,

The marble floor dropping away.

And there at the height,

I caught my first sight of the creature,

Looming and large as he

Lumbered and charged back and forth.

Low in his chamber,

Bull-headed and brawny

And roaring with rage,

The poor beast never saw me.

I surveyed the labyrinth

And mapped a path straight to his door

When at last I drew near,

I found the brute beast loudly sleeping.

The door left ajar,

I stealthily slithered inside.

Moving in silence,

I baited my breath

‘Gainst the thick threat of violence,

The strong stink of death,

When the mass of the Minotaur

Suddenly started to rise.