in the Garden of Eden

                          (a trilogy)

in the Garden of Eden  I

at first
they walked like children.
held hands
to brush through bushes
and gyre across
the lawns of paradise.

they had no plans
no dreams
no fears.

when Eve held Adam
from behind,
her hands across his belly,
he only laughed
at her touch.

she was never
wet with desire.
he was never
driven with lust.


for reasons
lost to us,
this was thought to be perfection.


in the Garden of Eden  II

Eve was filled with desire
and knew not
what it was,
so she asked God:

"how can I long
in a place without future?"
 
"what is this need
I feel in my hips?"

"why is Adam so strange
and empty of want?"

and God,
not knowing the beginning
from the end,
called Satan and said,

"can you deal with
this woman?"


in the Garden of Eden  III

she traded communion
with the animals
for knowledge.

one bite
of that fruit
and the world grew large
with promise.

the future washed in
bringing pain,
despair,
and a tatter of hope
from that lost place.

thorns pricked.
shoes were needed
for the stones.

the sun burned
and snows froze.

she held her children
to protect them
from the life she had given.

the contradiction of God.