I, Eve

i am
innocent

of all charges

nobody ever
asked me
my side of the Story

What Really Happened

everybody
wants to blame someone
for their troubles

me

women still curse me
when they give birth
in pain

or have to
fake another orgasm

but I was
There

nobody wants
to hear the
voice of the Damned

I was hungry

that's all

I was hungry

God said the fruit
of That Tree
was especially good
to eat

why mention that?

a dare?

I needed something
different

a new taste

and my mouth watered
my stomach growled
at the sight
of that Special Fruit

and
God said
it would give me
Knowledge
Insight Into the Mysteries

I needed knowledge
I was brand new
Here

I didn't know
anything

nothing

I was a child
in a fully formed
body

I needed help

Adam didn't help
He just sat there
all day
doing nothing

he seemed to like
the set-up
everything done
for him

but i was
bored

restless

already I felt
stirrings
in my own body
that i didn't understand

desires
pleasures
feelings

like when Adam and I
touched

things
happened

and it was Good

so
the snake and I
got to talking

it was magical
to have an intelligent
conversation

to think
and ask
and wonder

the snake
was Wise
very Wise

I wanted that too

Eat, he said
eat of Wisdom,
knowledge
expand...

and it was
wonderful

i thought
so many thoughts
with the sweetest juice

rolling down my chin
it filled me
enlightened me

it opened my eyes!
i had to share it
with my beloved

we shared
connection
insight
beauty

and so God
thought we were ready
for the
Rest of the World

and God gave us
clothes
to stay warm

but as the Story
got passed down
over the centuries
it was distorted

into a myth
of Sin, Disobedience

Shame

but I am Eve
I am
Mother of All Living

Mother
of Wisdom

Seeker of Truth
and Beauty

the world--not I--
gives you Shame

I, Eve
give you Wisdom

and
Wonder.

big

God is..
BIG...
I said

and the theologians
frowned

what did they want?

asking about
the nature of God
is like asking

to describe
the sweetness
of a kiss

the power
of a tornado

the touch
of a butterfly's
wings
against your palm

to say Who
What
How
God is

is like
trying to measure
the arc
of a dolphin's leap

or describing
the aroma
of honeysuckle
on the wind

or the
sensation
of a lover's embrace

do not ask me
to reduce God
to a reasonable
sentence

an understandable
creed
a formula
that seperates
good and bad

it's like
asking me to
tell you
how it feels

to make love
with my beloved

to feel that
safe
yet vulnerable
with another

to lose boundaries
of Self and Other
yet
to know
finally
who you are

these walls
hold in
keep out

these stained glass
windows

make things pretty
that aren't

let the sky in
breathe in
Creation
watch the cocoon
unfold
into brilliance

stand in the
broken waves
of the sea

see the eagle
fly
over the prairie

and then

then

speak to me
of God.

it's what's for dinner

those cows

in that trailer

i swear they're

looking at me

hooked up

to a truck

parked

next to Casey's General Store

they peek through

the opening

long, sultry eyelashes

framing big brown eyes

moo!

that's what they said

help!

is what i heard

i wanted to

apologize

for my taste

for beef

especially london broil

that's my favorite

or filet mignon

wrapped in bacon

but hey,

who likes pigs, anyway?

grilled is best

on an outdoor barbeque

that smell of grilled beef

in summertime

i usually eat min e

medium

i don't like it

too rare

i'm sorry

i said

to the mooing cows

batting those eyelashes

those eyes

those soulful eyes

boring into me

i started the car

and drove past

noticing then

that they were dairy cows

(feeling quite silly)

and I vowed

then and there

to drink more milk.