Riff On Jesus James Llorico's Old Woman Poem by David McLansky

I told Eve not to eat that pear.
She regarded me in silence with that stare
Jealous of my rule, my sovereign reign;
A creature who was foolish and quite vain;

Not content to live a life carefree,
She dared to acquire the powers claimed by me;
To assume the burden of my world of wisdom
When all she had to do to make sure Adam come

A born coward she insisted he taste the fruit;
An easy mark, their guilt beyond dispute;
The bitter flesh opened up their eyes,
They discovered they wee naked to their surprise.

Her punishment to labor and grow old
To know the pain of birth, of heat and cold;
I was lenient in the punishment I devised;
Her husband, her Lord, when expelled from paradise