Before the serpent tempted Eve to sin
Cannot be known, yet surely, in their eyes
That Tree of Knowledge sought their hearts to win.
The Good they knew so well: the will of God…
But Evil, Death nor Sin was known at all;
No Grave, no Tears, no need of chastening rod
Had yet marked out the dangers of a Fall.
There stood the cursing Tree with fruit so fair
That sparkled in the bright primordial Sun;
And Eve and Adam must have wondered where
The path might lead some disobedient one…
Oh Man! Oh Woman! Could you not have seen
The Test that faced you in that fateful Tree?
Could you not build some wall, some fence, some screen
To hide the thing from sight away from Thee?
You had no axe, no saw, to cut it down,
No flame of fire to burn it to its root,
So, daily gathering food you passed it round,
Perhaps admiring its alluring fruit…
Was neither of you wise enough to guess
The beauty of that Tree might be a snare
To keep your naked feet from righteousness
Or slither near to catch you unaware?
For on that fateful day, a wily snake
Proposed to you the charming, reasoning Lie
That you from naive slumbers could awake
And gain the wisdom God would dare deny…
That Good and Evil are Yours to define
And You, God’s children, could cheat your demise
By quoting Satan: “All of His, be MINE!”
By eating fruit desired to make one WISE.
MNA
10/14/2022
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