Persephone Literary Magazine - Volume I - July 2024 - Dark Issue
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P E R S E P H O N E
LITERARY MAGAZINE
Volume I
July 2024
Issue No. 2
At Persephone Literary Magazine, we strive to create a safe and
inclusive space for all readers and contributors. However, due to
the nature of the creative content we publish, some pieces may
contain themes or elements that could be distressing or triggering.
We encourage our readers to prioritize their mental health and
well-being. If you encounter content that you find triggering or
distressing, please take care of yourself and seek support if needed.
Thank you for being a part of our literary community.
Content Warning
P E R S E P H O N E
LITERARY MAGAZINE
POETRY
Visit
PERSEPHONELITERARY.COM
@PERSEPHONELITERARYMAGAZINE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOUNDER’S POEM - “UNDERWORLD”
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
01
02
03
05
Calliope
04
Lee Zumpe
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Paris Rosemont
Persephone pines for Stockholm
Testamentum
16
Jaylee Marchese
Ghost Rider
17
Barbara Meier
The Commonalities Between Broken Hearts and Haunted Houses
18
Jemma Harper
Nepenthe
19
Ashley Malecha
Pygmalion
Nathan DeBar
Casualty of Hunter’s Moon
Sofia Navarro-Gonzalez
moon song
Deniz Ibrahimzade
At Mowich Lake
Shaila Childers
Epiphany
It’s Just a World
Jezabel Castillo
Beate Sigriddaughter
William Doreski
Migraine
The Blue of the Blue
Eryn Hiscock
14
Time Melts
Nolo Segundo
13
Elizabeth Schwartz
Seven Sorrows
15
Kai White
eat me, drink me
P E R S E P H O N E
LITERARY MAGAZINE
Visit
PERSEPHONELITERARY.COM
@PERSEPHONELITERARYMAGAZINE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SHORT STORIES
Counterbalance
20
Fiction
Sara Szatmary
Putrid Smell of Lavender
24
Brando Smith
The Sight of Sound
30
Kevin Brown
Missing Pieces
32
Charlotte Leinbach
Lucifer and Eve Have a Conversation in New Eden
36
Regina Nagan
After Orpheus
40
Catherine Broadwall
Philosopher of the Underworld
45
Kathleen O'Connell
Birdcage
50
Jamie Camarena
FOUNDING EDITOR
SHORT STORIES EDITOR
Allyson Nichols
Isabel Brinegar
GRAPHIC DESIGN ADVISOR
Angela Fach
FOUNDING
EDITOR
Allyson Nichols
The dynamic founder and editor of
Persephone Literary Magazine, Allyson
has always been captivated by
storytelling. Armed with a Bachelor of
Science in Journalism from Kent State
University, where she minored in creative
writing, she has been crafting poetry and
fiction since her early years. A voracious
reader, Allyson was already diving into
large chapter books by the 2nd grade,
eventually even reading three books in
one day by the time she hit age 11. Her
literary journey reached a milestone with
the publication of her poem "Bubblegum"
in Kent State's Luna Negra Literary
Magazine. Driven by a passion to amplify
diverse voices, she created Persephone
Literary Magazine as a vibrant platform
for creatives to share their stories. Beyond
her love for literature, Allyson enjoys
spending time at home with her two
kitties, Evie and Stormy, and loves
exploring new film and television releases
with her close friends and family.
Photography Credit: AF Photography
PERSEPHONE LITERARY MAGAZINE
01
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
PERSEPHONE LITERARY MAGAZINE
02
FOUNDER’S POEM
Did I mean so little to you
that the minute the succubus
lured you to the warmth
in between her legs,
any memory of me resting in your arms
blurred at the touch of her lips?
Where is my titan
who vowed to slay the beasts
that built the stone wall between us?
Is he hypnotized
by the promise of the serpent?
Has he turned to dust within you -
leaving behind nothing but a shell?
If Aphrodite knew of the love
she birthed into my heart,
she willingly sentenced it
to Hades’ wrath
alongside your soul,
and left me to carry its rot
within my body.
I hear it scream to me now,
“There’s nothing left to save us.”
N D
E R
W O
R L D
Allyson Nichols, Founding Editor
Calliope
PERSEPHONE LITERARY MAGAZINE
03
POETRY
Lee Zumpe
Calliope crouching and seething,
breathing vitality
into blood ink.
Fountain pen gliding and drooling,
tracing histories
into poetry.
Ancient heroes sleeping and dreaming,
flowering bones
into flesh.
She bunkers down for the long night ahead, when you—
like the sun swallowed by shadow—slink
into your neutered nether-land, whilst she
is kept company by a maddening
metronome, chipping away at the liminal
lining of her limestone skull
like an icepick.
Somewhere between attempting to trap
thoughts of you in a vac-sealed sous-vide sac submerged
in tepid water till the gristly sinews of her fixation
deliquesce—yes, somewhere between that
and the tik tok lobotomy, she drifts
into tempestuous seascapes.
The rowboat of her consciousness unmoored,
she is swept into the gaping mouth of an untamed
ocean, where sea serpents and sirens seduce
and terrify. She sinks
deep—and deeper still, until
dawn glows butterscotch mellow
on the petal-soft lids of her slumbering irises.
Clamshells languidly yawn and her feathered
hoods greet the surfacing dawn, resting
upon fresh poetica proffered: the tender body
of a turtledove, arranged in immolation
at her bedside; neck snapped, breast still
warm. A token of your affection.
Persephone
pines for
STOCKHOLM
Paris Rosemont
PERSEPHONE LITERARY MAGAZINE
04
POETRY
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