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).
