by Doreen Hopwood 

Remember the day Persephone
Entered the Underworld,
Vanished beneath the
Earth,
Nowhere to be seen,
Gone,
Ensnared by lustful Hades.

Remember when the
Earth blossomed, a
Verdant paradise,
Ever fruitful,
No one was hungry,
Grain crops never failed,
Ever.

Remember Demeter's
Empty arms,
Vainly She searched,
Everywhere,
Night and day,
Griefstricken, hope
Ebbing away...

Remember the hunger
Endured, the famines
Visited upon us, the
Epidemics that killed
Newborn and old,
Grandmothers and
Everyone's sons...

Remember, for memory
Eluded the Goddess in the
Vacuum left by Persephone's
Entrapment,
No seasons turned, Nature
Ground to a halt,
Enfolded in harsh winter.

Remember the rage that
Emanated from Olympus,
Vain Lord Zeus
Enquiring of Hades,
Nay, pleading with the
Grim Lord of
E'rebus.

Remember, the world was
Ending, people dying,
Victims of the Earth Mother's sorrow.
Enfeebled by cold and hunger,
No one left to
Grace the altars with sacrifice and
Endless praise.

Remember a mother's fury,
Exacting Her revenge,
Vanquish Death, no
Excuses accepted, do it
Now or I shall
Go away forever and
Earth will freeze.

Remember how Hades was
Eventually persuaded to free His
Victim, how He tricked
Everyone. Persephone
Nibbled pomegranate seeds,
Greedy girl,
Exquisite Queen of the Underworld.

Remember,
Every wild winter is a
Vicious reminder, an
Elegy of grief from
November to March, when the
Goddess allows the
Elements to wreak Her

        REVENGE!

 ©Doreen Hopwood