Persephone Poem by Tara Hills

My favorite stories
Were always myths
Were always told as legends
And of these myths
I thought the most
On one particular tale
For it is said
In ancient lore
That Hades stole his bride
And by a silver serpent tongue
Secured her presence there

But

I believe this tale untrue
Persephone was no fool
Perhaps, instead
She choose her fate
Without an others aid?
For Hades rules the Underworld
And guards the yawning pit
Into which the Titan lord was cast
The depths of Tartarus
Perhaps she saw him all alone
In this dark and dismal world
With only spirits of the dead
To pass the hours with
And chose to make the best
Of her imprisonment with him
And found in him
The very thing
We've all dreamt of before
And so when she was told
That she would be returned
To the shining world above
She made her choice be known

Now even on Olympus
Even with the gods
The choices of a woman, then
Were rarely dwelt upon
And so to enforce it
To ensure she would return
She ate seeds from a pomegranate
And took the choice away
For those who eat from Hades' table
Must fore'er dwell with him
And so the tale as we now know
Unfolds the rest of the way
With half the year above
And half the year below
Persephone, goddess of Springtime
And also Queen of Hades