Dakota Blackwell, contributor

Queen of the Underworld’s Love

In the depths of the underworld,

Where the darkness reigns supreme,

I am Persephone, the queen of the dead,

And my love for Hades is no mere dream.

For when I first arrived in this realm,

I was frightened and alone,

But Hades was there to comfort me,

And his love became my home.

At first, I longed to return to the surface,

To bask in the sun and feel the breeze,

But as I spent more time with Hades,

My heart began to ease.

For he showed me a world of beauty,

That I had never seen before,

And I found myself drawn to him,

My love is growing more.

He showed me fields of diamonds,

And rivers of silver and gold,

And I knew that I had found love,

That could never grow old.

For Hades loved me in a way,

That no mortal man could ever do,

And in the darkness of the underworld,

I found a love that was true.

And so I stayed with Hades,

As his queen and his love,

And though some may see me as trapped,

I see the beauty in what we have.

For in the depths of the underworld,

Where the darkness reigns supreme,

I found a love that was pure,

And my heart became its own dream.

So here I will stay with Hades,

In the land of the dead and dark,

For our love is true and endless,

And our flame will always spark.

For in the underworld’s shadows,

Where the beauty is often unseen,

I found a love that is pure,

And I am forever Hades’ queen.

Demeter’s Fury: The Love of a Mother

In the land of fertile fields,

Where the seasons come and go,

I am Demeter, goddess of the harvest,

And my love for my daughter, Persephone, does grow.

She was the light of my life,

My precious little girl,

But one fateful day,

She was taken from my world.

Down to the depths of the underworld,

She was taken by Hades, king of the dead,

And I searched the earth for her,

With a heavy heart and aching dread.

For months I searched in vain,

As the world lay bare and cold,

But when I found out the truth,

My heart shattered and my anger boiled.

For my daughter had been taken,

And I had been kept in the dark,

And Hades had claimed her as his queen,

In a marriage so cruel and stark.

I stormed down to the underworld,

To demand the return of my child,

But Hades refused to let her go,

And my rage grew wild.

But then I saw my daughter’s face,

And my heart ached with sorrow and love,

For she was pale and frail,

In the land of the dead, so far above.

I begged Hades to let her go,

To bring her back to the land of light,

But he refused and mocked my pain,

And my anger grew with all my might.

So I took my revenge on the earth,

And brought famine to the land,

For my daughter had been taken,

And I would not give in to Hades’ demand.

Eventually, a compromise was made,

And Persephone was allowed to return,

But only for half the year,

While in the underworld she still yearns.

Every year, she returns to me,

And the earth blooms with her light,

But then she must return to Hades,

And my heart aches with her plight.

For my daughter is torn between two worlds,

And my love can’t make it right,

But I will always fight for her,

With all my power and might.

For she is my precious Persephone,

And no matter where she goes,

My love for her will always grow,

And the harvest will always flow.