picasso
Snappy Refrigerator Magnet Saying
by Nancy Lynée Woo

I like my men how I like my
crossed word puzzles:
complex, frustrating and
nongiveupable –

The only love worth having
labyrinthine.

I am no princess hoping on toads;
Give me your ugly, your worst,
your most frightening Minotaur
and a string.

SOURCE: Originally published at Cadence Collective: Long Beach Poets (Feb. 21, 2014).

IMAGE: “Minotaur’s Repose” by Pablo Picasso (1933).

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The whimsical, fanciful and mythological are of special interest to me. I love poetry because it lives in the world of the imagination, yet it is the imaginative act that often allows space for a hard truth to be seen. As humans, we have always told stories, and it’s fascinating to see certain archetypes appear throughout time and across different cultures. I am endlessly intrigued by the process of mythologification—how our mythologies influence or shape the way we think about the world and what we come to believe, and vice versa. Plus, it’s just great fun to write about goddesses and monsters.

nancy_woo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nancy Lynée Woo spends her free time hitching a ride to the other side of maybe. She is cofounder and editor of a social justice-based literary press called Lucid Moose Lit.  Often caught cavorting around Long Beach, California, this poet can also be found at nancylyneewoo.com.