“Persephone Tells All” by Ruth Thompson
Persephone carried off (faintly protesting)
by Big Beard the Muscleman,
her weeping mother searched
round and round
but did not go down-
town. Which is where she was.
But Big Beard
down there in the lamplight
in the altogether
was altogether
so large, so loud,
and the latesummer heat so oppressive,
Persephone got tired of it
(though liking the Harley okay)
so she took a hike.
“I wanted a big man,” she says,
“someone who took up the space –
someone who knew what he thought,
so I didn’t have to,
you know….
It was cool I guess
with the jewels and zombies and all that –
but after a while the oxygen
was running short
with all that hot air
and after a while he got heavy –
like I could ever be on top –
and after a while you notice
how they are always
going on and on and on
about themselves,
know what I mean?”
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Ruth Thompson Artist Statement:
Ruth Thompson is a poet and conscious channel. She is the author of five award-winning books, most recently Whale Fall & Black Sage (poetry; 2019), and Quickwater Oracles (channeled meditations; 2021). Her new book, Journey Bread: New & Selected Poems, will be published by Broadstone Books in 2024. Ruth’s poetry has won many national awards and has been performed by Shizuno Nasu and other distinguished dancers and musicians. Ruth has a BA from Stanford and a PhD in English from Indiana. She now lives in Ithaca, NY, teaches poetry and meditation, and is the editor/publisher of Saddle Road Press. (ruththompson.net)
