To Persephone
by Hearthstone
O Persephone, fair daughter of Demeter,
I praise you. Maiden you were, gathering flowers
with your dear companions; swiftly were you taken
away by great Hades, his bride and love to be,
and to rule by his side in his dark, rich kingdom.
For a season do you dwell in your husband’s realm
–your mother’s grief unbearable, she mourns your loss,
the world turns cold, the verdant fields grow dry and brown–
then return to your mother, to the brilliant sun,
to the renewed bounty of the earth. O goddess,
loveliest of all the jewels of the underworld,
gentle queen of the dead, I praise and honor you.