Dusk for the Minotaur by Emma Goldman-Sherman

at dusk the labyrinth sounds

a minor blue tune

or maybe I project

my own sad sense

for endings without instrument

after a life alone

shut in unsung

but somehow dusk feels true

add to my playlist

for endings to trumpet

the peat walls cool

the gone done fire of sun

no embers of note remain

as my eyes adjust

each day a coda, a refrain

ending as shadows

of the barred windows

fade their zebra reminders

if there'd been hooves

horseshoe indentations

I missed her in here

a grayed bull

whose horns wear no velvet

nothing dear

none to touch my hide

coarser than other quadripeds

to cover my all-too-human drum

Bio

Emma Goldman-Sherman's plays have been produced on 4 continents and include Abraham's Daughters, available as a podcast here. Their poetry is published or forthcoming in Toyon, Gigantic Sequins, The Mersey Review, Ink in Thirds, Anti-Heroin Chic, and others. Their microfiction will be anthologized in Best Microfiction 2025. Emma works as a neuro-affirming coach and teaches for the Dramatists Guild Institute. They support writers here and write about wholeness and creativity here.

Author's note

I believe that all mythology, whether ancient or modern, exists to help us make sense of our lives. I've been working on a series of Minotaur poems and flash to make sense of my own existence. As a trans/agender autistic person, I felt monstrous to my own parents (both long dead). They could not accept me for who I knew myself to be, and yet the longing for love remains.

This poem previously appeared in Possible Paths for the Minotaur (Ghost City Press: 2025).