Persephone

i was two breaths too late when you came.

suddenly, the earth was not beneath me,

my fingers were not crossed and the sky faded

from blue to black. helios watched silently

as you brought me to an open grave.

i could not think, not breathe, not even to

scream and i was trapped, sinking

on my knees, no hope of escape

only suffocation, begging for release.

yet, violently, you held me.

i was not made for sudden movements,

my eyes go wide like a deer and i am

fragile in the darkness, although i love the scent

of earth, the deep ageless.

my hands stained green - i was made

for growing beautiful things, but here,

away from light, the breeze, in this bat cave

full of old souls that will never pass on, just

remain, endlessly circling a forgotten prey:

wounded hearts that no longer recall what it is

to breathe.

here, where you've trapped me.

after my pupils dilated and i could see

your face above mine, perfection in its

severity: thin lips pursed in anxiety,

eyes like ice that burn my soul, just as

your hands leave smoldering lines across

my flushed skin. in your arms i am frost

bitten by your passion; i am ensconced

within your dark flames.

your eyes, two hollow bowls: an offering

full of remorse. you howl to the gods.

it was a slow dance between us, static

electricity echoed in the tension between

your heavy hands and my still heavier heart.

unclear whether you cast your net first, or i

threw my tangled web of diadems, sparkling,

luminescent in the shadows of hellfire, of home.

whisperings in my ear like the winter mist,

oh beautiful, oh hallowed, oh blessed, best

loved of my soul.

you laid a new name at my feet.

did you pick me because you could see

the hidden shard of glass trapped beneath

my aching breast? or was it because i know

what it is to be alone?

i am only skin and bone:

bleeding flesh, quickening blood,

a racing heart, an empty womb.

but it seems that i have known you forever.

once, before the die was cast, before

each god took up his dutiful throne,

did you dream of daylight?

i dreamed of you.

so i took the seeds from your palm, drinking

my fate, let it seep into my blood. i said

goodbye to the sun.

now what is left? no questions. only

what you feel, and i feel.

here, where you've trapped me.