In The Beginning... (An Alternative Account) Poem by Daniel Brick

from GENESIS 3/22
THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE

Then the Lord God said, 'Now that the man has become like one of us
in knowing good from evil, he must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick from the tree of life, too and eat and live forever.'
* * * * * * *
Then the Lord God said, 'We must plant more trees and shrubs - harmless ones - around the tree of life. We must hide it from them in deep foliage. To live forever must never become their fate. It's too late to stop the stirrings within them, but never, never will they steal life eternal from us as the serpent did, Go, and summon more Cherubim and more flaming swords! '
* * * * * * *

The man and the woman sat contentedly, side by side,
on a slightly sloping ridge of aromatic grasses.
The huge arch of branches and leaves of the great tree
sheltered them from the fierce beams of the sun.
They had folded the skin tunics made for them by the Lord God,
and placed them in a neat pile nearby. Once again, they were
comfortably naked. But suddenly, without understanding
his impulse, the man got up, looked into the hot sky
into which they had seen the Lord God vanish,
and dropped his full weight to the ground,
bruising his knees on the hard ground. He
did not understand his impulse, but raised both arms
above his head, and spoke in a voice much louder
than the one in which he spoke to the woman,

'Why, Lord God, did you not warn us about the serpent?
We did not know this creature before this morning.
Why do you call him more subtle than any beast of the field?

'Is his subtle knowledge part of the knowledge we gained
by eating the fruit? Is it good or evil knowledge,
or both at once? Will this knowledge cling to us?

'When I ask you questions, Lord God, is that the praying
you command us to perform everyday? Or is prayer yet
another kind of knowledge you have not revealed to us?

'And do our questions just hang in the air, like the scent
of sweet grasses, or do we have to ask them again every morning,
like the prayers you haven't revealed to us yet...

'And, Lord God, this last question: the serpent told us
about another tree in the garden, called the tree of life.
If we find it, can we eat its sweet fruit, like the serpent? '

And the man and the woman waited... And while they waited,
they came up with more questions for the Lord God to answer.
And after waiting a long time and talking quietly
to each other, they watched as the shadows of twilight
fell over the trees and flowers and shrubs of the garden.
And both were pleased with the golden outline of the other,
and both saw the flashing eyes of the other in the cool air.
And the woman touched the man's cheek and said softly,

'I know what subtle means. I can feel subtle things
stirring within me, which I did not feel until the serpent
address me... Until he gave us the fruit and the knowledge.'

'Well, the Lord God has disappeared far above us,
and the serpent has crawled deep into the sweet grasses.
Until one of them or both of them return, let us eat...

'Yes, let us eat more of the sweet fruit. You gave me
fruit in the morning, so I will give you fruit
in the evening. Let us walk hand in hand to the great tree.'

The man was pleased with his words and his actions.
And he could see the woman was also very pleased. To see
her pleased made him feel like a sun was rising inside of him.
And so they sat, eating the sweet fruit for a second time,
talking quietly, until the perfect sleep of the garden
embraced them, as they embraced each other all through the night.