there is no end to it.
The earth parches, its
glittering waters gone.
Everything is barren. Cattle starve
for lack of grain. Nothing grows.
Even the gods are destitute,
even the altar flames blow out.
such is a mother's grief; bitter
and endless, for her lost child.
Did you write this? I feel it.
ReplyDeleteNo. I didn't write it, but I feel it as well.
DeleteI found it as a quote on the internet with no attribution (anon) and I have looked into it with little success. It is, though, an apt description of how a mother might feel after losing her daughter to the underworld, and so may be someone's response to the story of Demeter, Persephone, & Hades. (http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html)
I do hope that if anyone knows the provenance of this little poem, they share it with me so that I might give it it's proper citation.