This poem is written from the standpoint of a girl who has been raped/sexually abused in the past and is now speaking to her lover years later.

You give me love,

you give me hope,

you give me inspiration;

and I can give nothing in return-

as I stumble,

I'll only cripple you as well.

Darling, I wish I could,

but I've been invaded-

a victim of selfish hands-

now a bare, naked body

shivering in the cold.

I huddle in a sordid corner

and wrap my weak arms around myself

basking in a lonely Hell,

filled with shame,

memories and fears,

I can't even trust my own mind,

how I wish I could trust yours...

So keep your distance Darling,

because I am  Persephone

subjugated by the

debauchery of Hades

then left in a desolation.

But even through all this

please give me love,

please give me hope,

please give me inspiration,

and please give me acceptance;

because Heaven and Hell

both know how much

I need it.