Come, Persephone

  Come, Persephone,

With your paint-pots and brushes:

Stipple the fields with flowers,

Dot the branches with bright blossoms,

Streak the Spring sky with pale pastels.

You are the one who paints the eyes on the pansies,

And the lines on the lilies so the bees can find their food,

And the blushes on the rosebuds.

Without you,

The bearded iris would have no smile

And the black-eyed susan would be blind.

Come, Persephone:

The world has rested too long

Under Winter's snowy cloak.

Come bring your brushes and bright colors

And dress us in the shades of Spring again.

We invoke you, gracious maiden of freedom and beauty:

Join us now.

~ Elizabeth Barrette, Invocation to Persephone