All Forever’s Flowers

Mystical poem and Hymn to Persephone 2. Written 11-2-24.

1.
Oh fair maiden,
Blessed goddess Kore,
I sing to You, sweet sister,
And of Your most tender moment 

As You played and danced,
Among the brilliant colors,
Of our Mother’s gift,
With playmates divine

Attended by the Mighty Ones,
Great and holy goddesses,
Your cherished cousins,
And constant companions

You stood among the blossoms,
Happy with Your family,
And unknowing of the peril,
Bent down to pick a flower

2.
After the Earth opened up,
And everything went dark,
The chariot’s wheels,
Were all You could hear

But secure in Your divinity,
Your fundamental safety,
In a universe made sturdy,
By those of Your blood

You looked up to watch Him,
His face grim and slightly sad,
And wondered at the forlorn power,
Of the firstborn child of Cronus

This god run rampant and wild,
Forced out of His element,
Kidnapping You under the skies,
That are His brother’s domain

3.
Left to Yourself and left alone,
In a palace of stone and gems,
You were faced with choice,
That most delicate of burdens
 
Twelve sweet, red seeds,
Sticky and succulent,
Twelve sweet, loving months,
Spent above or below

Left to choose between Mother,
And newly discovered lover,
Dreadfully aware of the price,
The Earth will have to pay

The power rests with You,
Darling darkling daughter, 
Dread Queen Persephone,
To decide all of our fates

4.
The years wend on and on,
Like the turning wheel,
That mills the blessed corn,
That is the Mother’s gift

You have become accustomed,
To Your yearly transformation,
From dearly held daughter,
To darkly held queen

Your judgments are carried out,
On the souls of heroes and monsters,
And every little in-between,
That wanders through the worlds

But in those dry 4am moments,
Do You ever wonder about,
The drifting velvet petals,
From that long-forgotten flower?