Persephone Rising (Sonnet for Dactylanthus Taylorii) by Megan Cartwright

Persephone paints her cheeks with roses.

Amid riotous larkspur and iris

she blooms, gilded on a bed of crocus

while her sisters gather calla lilies.

The god gropes skyward, a wood rose winding

vines about its host, draws her underground.

Here, leech-like tubers milk marrow, the stench

of fetid tree roots mingles with decay.

Persephone, crowned in thorns, buds violet

violence. Slick with scarlet, her fingers peel

petals from sinners. Coils wisteria

to suffocate the parasitic King.

Persephone rises like dawn, harvests

fluted burls, breaking Hades’ wooden bones.