creation myth

flowers are feminine
but the earth is
hard
cold
like men are told to be

Eve laid down with the
earth
and Adam learned
jealousy
created competition
resolved to destroy
the earth
to have Eve for himself

Eve understood the
grooves
of the ground
walked with the rythm
of the earth's heartbeat

tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump

and Adam
even asleep next to her
felt his own pulse drowned
out by the sighs of
wind through trees

watched as her chest rose
and fell
with the subtle draw
of the moon lapping on the shore

He didn't understand
how Eve could
nourish the earth
worried
that she couldn't love him
and
the cool sand beneath her feet
didn't understand
that she and the earth
worked together to feed him
to make a bed for their love.

but Adam couldn't sleep
kept watching Eve's
collarbone
rise and fall
watching the shoreline
rise and fall
in sync
in tune
without him

so he built a wall
built a house
built Eve a bed
of wood and down

tried to woo her from the earth

but she tended the garden still

he hunted for her dinner
made stews of boar and beef
told her they wouldn't
need
the fruit anymore

but she tended the garden still

so he built her a greenhouse
tried to separate
earth from earth
told her the rain would
take care of the rest

but she tended the garden still

so he built a tower
locked her in it
as high into the sky
as far from the earth
as he could manage with
his two hands

he left no stairs for her escape
locked the tower
satisfied that he'd
separated his wife
from her lover

looked around and found
himself
alone
with a world he could not understand.