"you think he took me?
you think i knew not what i did
when i laughed and placed those crimson seeds
upon my tongue?
my lord, he brings me bloodstained flowers,
and i give him kisses laced with venom
he gifts me graveyards to plant my orchids
and i send him the torn heads of men
who wrong my maidens.

come springtide i am bound to earth,
to my mother’s sunfilled meadows
her unequivocal, enduring love.
and by the fading light of summer
i return to my lover’s onyx walls
and cimmerian heart.
i cherish both but they know
they would have no claim on me if i did not desire it
for i belong to myself,
i am only my own—
half flowering creation,
half blistering hellfire.

he calls me his lady
but he knows
i am a queen."

- persephone speaks, A.C.

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