Researching Persephone myths and devotions a few months ago, I discovered this beautiful poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay:

Be to her, Persephone,
All the things I might not be:
Take her head upon your knee.
She that was so proud and wild,
Flippant, arrogant and free,
She that had no need of me,
Is a little lonely child
Lost in Hell,—Persephone,
Take her head upon your knee:
Say to her, "My dear, my dear,
It is not so dreadful here." 

I appreciated its beauty, but it was not quite what I was looking for at the moment—I was seeking inspirations for a Persephone-centric sequence of rosary prayers, mostly for the purpose of personal devotions/meditations rather than appeals for dead loved ones. Also, I didn’t like the idea of using “Hell” synonymously with “Afterlife” in my daily prayers—while I admire Persephone in all the various versions of her story, I don’t believe in a literal Hell or a Hell-like Underworld, and I don’t wish to create such negative associations in my mind with constant repetition.

However, I found that this poem kept coming back to me throughout the rest of the day. Even having only read the lines once or twice, I found I had almost completely memorized the poem, basically by accident. The image of the lovely goddess drying a little girl’s tears was too beautiful to push aside over a quibble about exact wording. I realized that I liked the essential message of the poem—the idea of a queen of life and death so gracious that she sees every frightened child—even ones that won’t always admit they need help—as worthy of her time and affection.

So, I adapted the poem for my own personal devotional use, attempting to evoke the same beauty of the original poem’s story but infused with a slightly more hopeful worldview. Here is the result. I usually whisper it before bed, or whenever I am feeling vulnerable:

Show to me, Persephone,
All the things that I must be:
Though I am so proud and wild,
I am inside a little child
Lost and scared,—Persephone,
Take my head upon your knee:
Comfort me, "My dear, my dear,
There never was a thing to fear." 

Now, I just want to be clear that I do not think my adaptation is “better” than Millay’s original! I rewrote it to make it more relevant to my own spiritual needs, not to “improve” upon its artistry. Some lines are changed to reflect the fact that I say the prayer for myself or to reflect an appeal for Persephone’s wisdom and comfort in life and not just in death. Some lines are cut to make the poem a set of four rhyming couplets, for the simple reason that it’s easier for a tired/stressed brain to remember it that way… but as art, the original has my utmost respect!