After day and night,
After sky
    and land and sea,
After sun, moon, stars,
After fruit and flowers,
    fish and fowl,
    beasts of the field,
After Man—

The Crowning Glory.
Woman.
Me.

We laughed together,
    the Man and I.
We danced.
We played like children.

And then
    we fed each other
    forbidden fruit—

 and oh!

 Ohhhh...

 We kissed
    with eyes wide open,

 and traded Eden
    for the great, grubby World.

 I’m not sorry.

 For all the seeming bliss
    of Eden,
What do children know
of Bliss?

Woman Remembering Eden
© Barbara Jean Hicks 2007