Labyrinth

by Jane Yolen

Dance the maze,

They tell me.

Trace the goddess steps.

Yet there seems

no pattern, no floor.

All is chaos:

A tangle of webs,

twists of threads,

history’s clots.

Stone beneath,

Stone above,

I sink into the grey.

But as I dance,

unspooled life winds

about my spindle.

Now I see the path.

One foot after another,

Till labyrinth reveals.

Then I dance home

to the center of self

and out again.                             

* * * * *

Jane Yolen is the author of 360+ books (actual number) including 8 books of adult poetry. Much of her work is for young readers, but she has a number of novels, essay collections, and pedagogical books for adult as well. www.janeyolen.com