Queen of the Underworld

Persephone,
You are all foreground and sunshine
Blessing the barren heath
With flowers--
Evanescent fragrance,
Color, light--
That soften a hard landscape
As they take hold and grow,
Reaching deep into dark earth
Where heroes and gods fear to go,
And rising toward the sun.
Daughter of Demeter,
Daughter of Zeus,
Hades claims you,
And the underworld
Makes peace with the life force:
We rest to live,
Live to rest,
Melting with the snow,
Blossoming with the flowers,
Reveling in the harvest,
Sinking in good time
To the fearless earth,
Satisfied.