Adam and Eve, happy as fleas in a doghouse
Glacial, this garden,
without self-determination
The mother serpent said it was good
When Eve took
the fruit from the tree with roots that go up as well as down,
like a nervous system,
like arteries from the heart;
it was a flea that jumped
from the rotting flesh of the giant
Now we swim in the many rivers of earth,
still together, inseparable
The lover yearns to unite with their empty spaces
The child yearns to eat the cyanide pips
The river yearns to spill into the sea
But we never left
There are only beginnings
for the unborn
I know that this poem doesn’t make much sense. You may think it’s absurd, or offensive even. I wrote it as a thought-experiment from the point of view of someone who has catholic roots, only to become uprooted at the age of fourteen. (I stayed seated during communion; I simply refused to join my classmates in the queue to receive the sacrament.)
Over the years, I have called myself agnostic, atheist, and now I use the wide term spiritual. Like many spiritual Westerners, my spiritualism is a pick-and-mix of Eastern influences, my main beliefs being shaped by Taoism and Zen Buddhism in particular. Almost everything I know about these ancient traditions comes from Western translations and adaptations, which have been accused of being reductive.
So, this poem is a product of that. Everything that resonates with you, and everything that you object to in this poem, is part of the experience of the poem. Thanks for trying to understand!
Tender Rebellion 
Responses
I love how this piece reads like a stream of consciousness and the striking thoughts it arrives at! ❤
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Thank you, Layla! I love reading your thoughtful comments. I really appreciate it.
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Love “the tree with roots that go up as well as down” Well done!
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Thank you, Bartholomew.
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Loved reading this poem Conny! Your take on the Adam and Eve story is so refreshing! ‘The child yearns to eat the cyanide pips’ is a mindblowing line!
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Thank you, Dominic. I really like that line too!
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Hmmm. My pleasure Conny!
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I know a number of people who began with a Catholic upbringing who now would not call themselves Christian. But before you rule out Jesus, you may want to look at a few Catholic traditions neither Jesus nor His disciples ever endorsed. In fact, there is evidence in Scripture of the opposite. I hope you’ll prayerfully check it out and maybe consider Jesus again…
http://seekingdivineperspective.com/2022/11/04/are-you-praying-to-the-wrong-person/
http://seekingdivineperspective.com/2022/11/11/are-you-praying-to-the-wrong-person-part-ii-saints/
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Thank you! I’m always curious to learn more.
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It’s lovely, and makes sense enough to me, I think. Really, though- well worded. I’d be glad to hear more of your thoughts. I’ll leave a link to something of my own. https://spergbox.wordpress.com/2021/12/31/ode-to-the-perennial-sophia/
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Oh, thanks so much!
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My pleasure!
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