Eden Recounted

Listen, she said,
Sitting next to me at the bar,
It’s a bum rap.
They’ve always blamed me
For the problems in Eden.

Talk about blind illogic
On the part of some vinegar-faced
Chauvinistic,
Self-righteous,
Fault-finding
Brothers of
Uncharitable
Finger-
Pointing!

It’s not like I had a choice,
She said.
The apple was just sitting there,
Waiting to be plucked.
This makes it my fault?

I mean, Adam was no dummy.
He knew the symbolism
Of plucked fruit.
And, anyway,
Nobody held a gun to his head,
She said,
Snuffling into her martini.

It’s just ingratitude,
Pure and simple,
She said,
As she slithered under the bar
To powder her fangs.