The Monster He Became

-For Asterion, who only became a monster because he was treated like one Throw him in the pit where he belongs, Though he was not born naturally evil: no one is. His mother had raised him with watchful, tender care And now he longs to hold her hand again. The doll she gave him smells like her, So he curls his body around it so he can keep warm. He lies alone: locked up far from the sky. His real name was Asterion—though they called him the Minotaur— It meant The Starry One, Yet he will never again see the stars. Upon arrival, they produced him a knife to uncover the beast within, But his young, innocent hands wouldn't touch it Because he knew not what violence was. Year after year; day after day, He is led out into the maze to fight: To slaughter in self-defence and be called the feral monster— When others have committed the same crime With merciless and senseless brutality. Soon, he will be slain by the "hero", Theseus, But in no telling of the story does the Minotaur have a weapon To fight back. If only he had never been discovered in his youth, Then he would never have been forced to become The monster he became: Because he never would have been treated like one.