Before the Descent: Persephone’s Choice
Now part of the mythical retellings collection, We Are the Fall.
A perfect life was gifted
hollow, and strangely bereft.
She gasped for breath of the sweetest air,
yet none could soothe her chest.
Then came he, with shadowed crown,
and offered her a hand:
“A grander life awaits thee, child —
though thy mother won’t understand.”
“Let me bear it all,” he said,
“for I am already stained.
They fear my name, they curse my face,
bound fast by tales unchained.”
So Persephone forsook the bloom,
and let him take the blame;
She crowned herself in ash and gold,
and ruled amidst the flame.
Author’s Note
In the original myth of Persephone, she is often portrayed as an innocent maiden abducted by Hades, the god of the Underworld, and tricked into staying by eating pomegranate seeds. Her story is usually told as one of victimhood — a tale of loss, captivity, and compromise.
In Before the Descent, the narrative is reimagined.
Rather than a powerless girl stolen away, Persephone is depicted as a young woman who chooses to leave behind the life that no longer fulfills her. She recognizes the hollow perfection of her former world and steps willingly into the unknown.
Hades, too, is reinterpreted, not as a villain, but as someone who offers her freedom, knowing he will be blamed and reviled.
In this retelling, Persephone claims her crown, her fate, and her power — not through force or deceit, but through choice, courage, and self-realization.
She becomes Queen not in sorrow, but in sovereignty.
This retelling is now part of the complete mythical retellings collection, We Are the Fall. The book, and merchandise, is now available in the store!
