Art: "Loving the Dress" by Jasper Glen
Poetry: "Talking Over Pomegranate Tea with Persephone" by Ashley Williamson
Tell me, Persephone, what do you think?
It’s spring now, and you’ve returned.
You’ve awakened the bees, dear.
You’ve sent the sap running.
Do you miss him, Persephone?
Your Hades, your darkness,
the gaps between the stars,
shadows sinking in the river?
Does he hold you, Persephone?
Are his hands cold on your skin?
Open your eyes, Persephone,
drink in the sun.
Remember who you are, dear.
Your Longings, your Constant,
are not all you’re made of.
You are starlight,
Honey in the Night,
Hope of the Dawn.
Walk bare-footed, Persephone,
through moss and loam
Sing your secrets to snails and seeds.
Revel with your sisters
in the streams and the trees.
Your husband misses you, Persephone,
and the flush of your skin.
Would he run with you, spring-eyes,
to a Land up above?
Could you balance your seasons if you had all your loves?
Published February 8th 2023
Ashley Williamson is an American poet living in the inspiring English Lake District. She just finished her Undergraduate degree in Creative Writing at Oxford University. When not writing, she works as an industrial radiographer for a small family business in the aerospace industry. She wanders the Lake District, rock collecting and painting. Her poetry is featured in New Note Poetry, Cathexis Northwest Press, La Piccioletta Barca, Beyond Words Literary Magazine, and The Festival Review.
Jasper Glen is a writer and artist from Vancouver, BC. He holds a BA in Philosophy and a JD. Poems appear in AGOTT, Amsterdam Quarterly, BlazeVOX, Die Leere Mitte, Ghost City Review, Posit, Rogue Agent, The Wild Word, and elsewhere.
Loving the Dress; October 2023; Analog collage with digital editing.