Persephone speaks: The underworld is my temple; it is my sensual, tactile engagement with all that is above and below, without and within; the sanctuary of my impassioned meeting with the depths of my lover’s embraces. I understand the complexities of wild cravings, the decisions made from passionate abandon. I am no one’s victim or concubine. I am sovereign, clear, the one who chose to eat those pomegranate seeds. Do not underestimate the fierce power of a maiden’s desires. I wished to become queen of the underworld, the vessel between the realms, ascending the stairway between light and dark, the only place I am unaccompanied. I own the depths of my existence— can you say the same for yourself?