Persephone

(As Published in Silhouettes of Stardust)

When did I become the favorite toy

being fought over by two siblings?

A doll pulled into the sun

and the shade.

Pandora chose to open the box.

Eve knew what she was getting into

when she plucked the apple from the tree.

I warned Eurydice

“that last step is slippery with winter rain.”

Do you think it was my choice to wed a man I did not love?

Live a life I did not choose?

Do you think I chose to sit on a throne

of flowers and bone

and serve my sentence of half an eternity

half a year at a time.

With the juice of six pomegranate seeds

staining my clean fingers.