Eve’s Side of the Story

By Erin Parker

Maybe it wasn’t the apple
or the knowledge
or the delicate serpent
who whispered secrets
from the tree.
Maybe it was the man.

Maybe she couldn’t help it

when he pulled her into awareness
when he pulled her from his own desire
when she lay in his arms
(his dust covered arms)
when he smoothed her hair
when he smiled at her
when she recognized him
and she was known
in every sense.

Maybe she couldn’t help it.

He was hers, as she was his,
and maybe the return home
was worth the expulsion from paradise.

Eve’s Side of the Story was originally published in “Uno Kudo, Vol. 2 – Naked”