Eve, Escaped
by Choiselle Joseph
oh thank God for a friend in this Paradise where i was damned to wrestle against fat nerve and sinew where i wasn’t graced with eyes or a tongue until He was so kind to wrench me from that man’s chest the spear tip of my marrow nearly pierced a hole in his lung the garden breeze blew minty against his residues as He laid me down on the clovers molded my arms my legs that goddamn cavity that stuttering drum is it supposed to be beating this fast He called me Companion i squint every time until it’s over until i’m scrubbed clean and itching while he anchors me grunting like a bull i pray for morning sickness but the big guy must be deaf i think only of figs and figs and figs fig juice streaming down my chin and my wrists if you could just unravel your scales from this branch please my stomach is a serpent with a tail down its throat
First published in Pithead Chapel
What a powerful reimagining of the Eden myth. Every line is exquisite. What it says about hunger and women's roles in relationships. I can't say enough about this poem
There's something snakey in the gaps between the words, the mid line breaks (is there a word for this?). It reminds me of the split lines of alliterative poetry.