Ariadne in Married Life

The spiral, serpentine,
the classic unicursal. Since Crete
he’s grown a passion for such things.

Each evening finds him silent
at his board, an endless perfecting
of blind alleys, falsely hopeful paths,
his dog Daedalus – in the name of Zeus! –
curled by his feet.

While in my corner – all lovesickness
cured – I embroider with my flashing needle
the dear bull beast as I remember him. Snap
silk thread between my teeth.

Stephen Bone has been published in various journals in the UK and US. His first collection In the Cinema was published by Playdead Press in 2014.