Eve Poem by Abby Koning

And I, like Eve, wandered through my respective garden
(suburban dwellings, unbeautiful but clean)
Naked, cool autumn breeze brushing against my skin
Happy, or Naïve (similes, perhaps?)
My Adam having gone to lie beneath the rays of the sun
Having gone to warm himself
To let the beams of light settle on his tongue
(*chew* *savor* *swallow*-innocence)
And as I strolled, hands and arms
Swinging in sync with that patter
Of my sneaker-clad feet
That snake slithered from out of the leaves
(disguised as a man in dark shades,
Casually smoking a cigarette)
And, stretching out his gloved hand,
Offered me Knowledge of Good and Evil
(in the form of a book that I suspected
Morphed into an apple whenever I glanced away)
One bite, he whispered, one.
I will not promise you happiness; rather,
I offer you the chance to know the grittiness of life.
Of sin and salvation (they are intertwined, are they not?)
Of good and evil (for one cannot exist without the other, am I right?)
Of right and wrong (and all the gray areas in between.)
And I was sorely tempted and, finding my curiosity
Unable to resist such a treat, flipped through pages
And absorbed the mysteries of the world,
The cruelty of men, the ugliness of reality

The apple was bitter-sweet, for I too tasted, I too discovered
The beauty of life, the kindness lingering in the eyes
Of a stranger, the gentle touch of human hands

And the book was dangerous, I found I could not remain unchanged.

And perhaps my story will be considered blasphemy
For surely I was punished, I and my Adam
(for love led me to share my Knowledge with him…sin?
Or something more? Love, perhaps?)
Were banished from our respective garden
Destined to dwell among men, to taste all that the world had to offer

But, I must admit, I do not think this punishment is anything more than a challenge
For, though I do not smile always, I’ve learned to never take a smile for granted
I’ve learned the beauty in tragedy
I’ve learned, most of all, the art of understanding

And, in the end, I cannot help but feeling that this understanding was worth it
Although my Adam and I often toss and turn late at nights
Trying to understand
What exactly we had done to warrant punishment,
If punishment it was indeed?