'Finders keepers' & 'Love in 25 words or less' Themed Poems from Medusa Bar 14.03.24

Persephone in the Garden

'Love in 25 words or less'

This one went over 25 words however the sentiment is short and sweet, left as the encore piece of the evening. I wanted to write something that encapsulated creating space for each other through hardships.

We carry a piece of each person we have loved around long after they leave. That piece springs up from time to time, old wounds, memories from someone else can be resolved since meeting a new person can be an opportunity to say goodbye or hello to the person you loved and lost in a small way. In this way, meeting new people and experiencing the world can be healing.

Persephone is an apt goddess to show that, a dual goddess of spring, light and eventually became queen of the underworld realms. She didn't originally choose to go to the underworld, however depending on which story you read she does make peace with her role there and grows a fondness towards Hades (or Pluto) despite being dragged to the depths while picking yellow daffodils (also known as 'narcissus' which symbolised early death in Greece).

Persephone I imagine is extending a hand to Demeter after prolonged separation and argument. Sometimes it's hard to know what to do when there is a falter in trust and there is often misunderstandings that happen. It can take time to step away before heated moments can grow into a garden of love. An olive branch extended by one side saying 'let me hear you, feel the warmth I love you and I want to know where you are' is how we heal together.

Names

'Finders Keepers'

Labels and nicknames flow like water from a tap. Each group I would enter usually had another Alex so a new nickname was given. I got to thinking about how this goes deeper into woundings we carry, secret ideas that may be held by us from childhood or other areas. Many don't serve anymore, we have the capacity to shift our internal view of ourselves though that can be hard to see at times. This is reclaimation of that. As a performance piece, the names can all be swapped out for your own or ones the audience gives you.