I should have never eaten the seeds.
Heavy in my hands,
I held the pomegranate
and tore apart its flesh,
the juice running through
the slots in my fingers,
tingling my veins,
as red dripped down my arms.
And now my heart.
You put the fruit there to deceive me.
I felt it tumble from my hands
and there you were,
ready to catch it
and pull me into the underworld.
How was I so naive to think that
you were anything more
than a hungry man
looking for a shiny, new fruit
to add to your garden?
Was that all I was to you?
One of six hundred
crimson seeds
in a pomegranate?
Now I am imprisoned because of your empty promises.
I am trapped.
You are nothing less than the god of Hell.
I was nothing more than
a satisfaction for your hunger
for attention
and desire.
I was never worth a shrub of fruit,
only a few bites
to keep me close.
A fruit never felt so rotten in my hands
until it bound me to you.
-did the pomegranate taste this sour, persephone?
-
Art by Trent Bangle