Labyrinth of the Toilet
Ariel N. Banayan
After Amichai’s “Infinite Poem”
Within every toilet—
A labyrinth of pipes
And within that labyrinth—
An ocean
And within an ocean—
Filth between every molecule of water
And within every molecule of water—
A drowned Minotaur
And within that lost Minotaur—
A beating heart made of glass
And within the fragile heart—
The ocean once again
Ariel N. Banayan is an Iranian Jewish writer born and raised in Los Angeles. His writing has been featured in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Poetry Daily, the Foothill Journal, Guesthouse Lit, and elsewhere. He recently graduated from Chapman University’s dual MA/MFA degree program, where he now teaches classes on rhetoric and writing to first-year students.


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