Picasso:  Drinking Minotaur
and Reclining Woman
(Etching, 1933)

There he is, the Minotaur, champagne glass
held like a woman’s breast, gazing
over my right shoulder, half in thought
and half in satisfaction; she,
replete with sadness, rests her eyes elsewhere
past my left ear. We share, in public space,
a balanced triangle of intimacy.

I know my place in this: the Minotaur
won’t meet my stare, indifferent to my look..
Unable to take sides, I side with both  -
his weight of pleasure, her withdrawn regret,
the distances that tie us: his curled pelt,
worked into heavy coils around his neck,
her flat unblemished skin; complete the proof.

D. A. Prince

If you have any comments on this poem, D. A. Prince would be pleased to hear from you.