to drink her wine. Daedalus, I hear
that you work too hard and have no wife
to mother your boy. With Minos away
I’m languishing, so let Talos
come live with me. He loves my Deucalion,
our future king — they’ll become brothers,
and both will grow up better men.
At last, you’ll be able to let yourself loose,
to give your gears and gimbals a rest!
Knossos contains another Athens,
whose pleasures will heal your homesickness.
The engineer knelt and anointed
the clean tile with his clammy forehead.
Your majesty has astounded me again.
I pray that the gods will give me the wit
to make myself worthy of your wonderful offer.
Would you give me a week to wean myself
from my lucky son? She allowed him to return
to his little house with its long terrace,