A Myth of Devotion

    he built for her a duplicate of earth，

    everything the same， down to the meadow，

    but with a bed added.

    Everything the same， including sunlight，

    because it would be hard on a young girl

    to go so quickly from bright light to utter darkness

    Gradually， he thought， he'd introduce the night，

    first as the shadows of fluttering leaves.

    Then moon， then stars. Then no moon， no stars.

    Let Persephone get used to it slowly.

    In the end， he thought， she'd find it comforting.

    A replica of earth

    except there was love here.

    Doesn't everyone want love？

    He waited many years，

    building a world， watching

    Persephone in the meadow.

    Persephone， a smeller， a taster.

    If you have one appetite， he thought，

    you have them all.

    Doesn't everyone want to feel in the night

    the beloved body， compass， polestar，

    to hear the quiet breathing that says

    I am alive， that means also

    you are alive， because you hear me，

    you are here with me. And when one turns，

    the other turns-

    That's what he felt， the lord of darkness，

    looking at the world he had

    constructed for Persephone. It never crossed his mind

    that there'd be no more smelling here，

    certainly no more eating.

    Guilt？ Terror？ The fear of love？

    These things he couldn't imagine；

    no lover ever imagines them.

    He dreams， he wonders what to call this place.

    First he thinks： The New Hell. Then： The Garden.

    In the end， he decides to name it

    Persephone's Girlhood.

    A soft light rising above the level meadow，

    behind the bed. He takes her in his arms.

    He wants to say I love you， nothing can hurt you

    but he thinks

    this is a lie， so he says in the end

    you're dead， nothing can hurt you

    which seems to him

    a more promising beginning， more true.