Ariadne's Tale

 

Let spindle hang
Setting the twist afresh.
Let thread so wind
Creating a blood-red mesh

The winds changed;
soon after
ships arrived from Athens.

Theseus the sacrifice
stepped onto our cruel
shores.

In the reeking dark of the maze
we tied together
a knot of my thread.

I waited breathless
feeling fibres tighten with my fingertips
holding the tension
holding the warrior safe
in my heart.

Theseus unravelling
my magic scarlet thread
by devious turns of twist
to kill my brother.

Tension sagged.
Thread trembled.
Tension taughtened.
My heart shuddered as

out of the blood-black of the maze
Theseus my murderer
wrapped me in fresh blood-spattered kisses.

I, Ariadne the betrayer
for his passion
quit spinster
for the jewelled crown
of new shores.

Wind-bound on Dia
in the dark before dawn of the sea
I made love
He wove his escape in me.

In the freshening morning I woke on cold sands to fresher winds

Let me so hang
Tying fresh twist anew.
Left on these shores
Dying for love of you.

© Anne Lovejoy, September 2008