Christina Laurie
Cape Cod Branch, Massachusetts 

When the serpent beckoned Eve
and she tasted the ripe softness
of the pink fruit from the forbidden tree,
she felt the energy of earth
pour into her bones,
teasing the marrow with cool sweetness
and the memory of being.

Then she knew of knowledge,
and adventure begged at her back door.
She galloped into the new world
with insight and understanding
that her husband only sensed
as he watched her frolic in the fields of gold,
free, beautiful and sensual.

She knew that, up until that moment,
all she had known was isolation
of green and blue, of earth and sky
and gentle walks with God.
His voice called her to His evening stroll,
but after the fruit, all she knew
that what had touched her tongue
was only partial truth.