Eve's Diary Poem by Richard Burke

DAY ONE
I'm almost a whole day old now,
I arrived just yesterday,
If there were any 'days before, '
I wasn't here, so cannot say;
And will there be a 'tomorrow, '
I can only hope there'll be,
There's no one here that I can ask,
I'll just have to wait and see.

I feel I'm an experiment,
An experiment, nothing more,
And all the rest is part of it,
Some deep mystery at its core;
My instinct tells me memories,
Will prove important in some way,
I've decided to start a diary,
And write in it each day.

DAY TWO
Things look somewhat better now,
Than they did just hours ago,
The mountains are less ragged,
More stars now seem to glow;
But the moon got loose last night,
And slid into the sea,
It would have been fastened better,
Had the job been left to me.

The stars are very pretty,
They'd look lovely in my hair,
But they're too high for me to reach,
Even if I'd dare;
I'll never tire of seeing them,
They brighten the cold night sky,
And that helps me feel less lonely,
I cannot tell you why.

DAY THREE
I took a long, long walk today,
To see more of my estate,
It's filled with birds and animals,
And fruits like grape and pear and date;
But I went too far to get back home,
And got caught out in a storm,
So I snuggled with some tigers,
And they kept me dry and warm.

I've made friends with many animals,
They're charming, kind, polite,
And always ready to romp and play,
I find them a delight;
They smile at you and wag their tail,
(Unless they don't have one,)
And tag along wherever you go,
They seem just made for fun.

And the elephant has helped me see,
Scenery for miles around,
He curls his trunk to hoist me up,
Then sits while I slide down;
These animals seem to sing and talk,
Tho' their language's unknown to me,
But dogs understand when I talk back,
One more part of this mystery.

DAY FOUR
Today I saw an EXPERIMENT,
I'd never seen before,
I think it could be a reptile,
But I can't say that for sure;
It had no hips, its chest was flat,
Its tail hung down in front,
And when I tried to talk to it,
It answered with a grunt.


It seemed quite shy and tried to run,
It must be scared of me,
When I drew near to pet its head,
It climbed up in a tree;
When I come back tomorrow,
And it's certain that I will,
I'll bet a dozen strawberries,
I'll find it's up there still!

DAY FIVE
It's been my job to name things,
From the first day I arrived,
Animals, plants and places,
All have names that I contrived;
These names just seem to come to me,
I know the right one from the start,
It might be inspiration,
Or it just may be I'm smart.

That EXPERIMENT may be a reptile,
But even reptiles need a name,
In many ways we're different,
But in others we're the same;
It's these eerie similarities,
That suggest a clever plan:
I'll call myself WOMAN,
And call the reptile MAN.

DAY SIX
Today I found the MAN could talk,
Which has special appeal to me,
I talk all day, even in my sleep,
So I'm as thrilled as I could be;
That doesn't mean he talks that much,
His vocabulary seems small,
It's possible he's not too bright,
But he's better than no one at all.

A WEEK LATER
I tagged around him all week long,
He seemed pleased to have company,
I had to do most of the talking,
But used the sociable 'WE';
He seemed flattered to be included,
Which is exactly what I hoped,
It seems the ego of a MAN,
Must frequently be stroked.

FIVE DAYS LATER - MY FIRST SORROW
Yesterday he avoided me,
But would not tell me why,
I'd done nothing to offend him,
(The injustice made me cry) ;
That night I felt so lonely,
I found the shelter that he built,
But he kept me standing in the rain,
Without a shred of guilt.

I fled to share my sadness,
With a friend who'd sympathize,
I see her in a forest pond,
She's always kind and wise;
She's only there in sunshine,
Or when the moon is bright,
Thankfully the moon is full,
And she'll be there for me tonight.

She only talks when I talk,
She's sad when I am sad,
She comforts me with sympathy,
Whether I've been good or bad;
'Do not be so downhearted,
You poor and lonely child,
I'll always be your friend, your sister, '
I shed a tear and smiled!

SUNDAY
He's pleasant again and I'm happy,
But those were hurtful days,
I try to keep them out of mind,
And seek ways to earn his praise;
Today I planned a picnic,
(That's a clever way to flirt) ,
I served the Garden's tastiest plants,
And juicy apples for dessert.

Apples are forbidden, he says,
And I shall come to harm,
But if harm comes from pleasing him,
Why should I fear that harm?

TUESDAY
Today I spent my morning,
With the butterflies and bees,
That revel in the flowers,
I'd gathered to make wreaths;
I clothed myself in garlands,
And sat down on shaded moss,
To eat the luncheon that I brought,
Apples - -of course.

AFTER THE FALL
When I look back it seems a dream,
Beautiful, now forever lost,
But I found him and he loves me,
And that to me is worth the cost;
Still, I ponder why I love him,
And find I do not know,
Love does not need a reason,
I believe that must be so.

FORTY YEARS LATER
It is my prayer that when we die,
We will pass this life together,
This is the hope of each wife that loves,
And will remain that hope forever;
But if one must be the first,
I pray it will be me,
For he is strong and I am weak,
I need him more than he needs me.

AT THEIR GRAVES
EVE: 'Life without him would not be life.'
ADAM: 'Wheresoever she was,
THERE was Eden.'


A poetic interpretation of a
short story by Mark Twain.
Richard Burke, February 2022