THE BOTTLED MINOTAUR

Admittedly, the hooves were hard

to press all the way in.

The air bubbled at the rim

with the sealing wax.

But the crystal-cut pectin worked on him

until he crisped.

Now you can hardly see his hoof prints.

In time he will shrink,

a raisin of what he was,

poor him, drumming his hooves

against the glass forever

until the nicks cluster

and then the long crackling begins

tracing his labyrinth.

Lee Upton is the author of a novella, The Guide to the Flying Island, as well as five books of poetry, most recently Undid in the Land of Undone, and four books of literary criticism.  She is the writer-in-residence at Lafayette College.