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Let There Be Light
From beyond, there came the Word—a cosmic “Om”
That pierced the void with one colossal bang of sound,
Releasing undulating waves of hallowed hum
That thundered through the geodesic grid unbound
With bursting, brilliant Light! Acoustic alchemy
Of Earth’s Creator—names like Brahma, God, Amun.
Divine vibration uttered by the Deity
From out whose mouth there came the Word made Light. Amen.
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Eve In The Garden
__Now Eve, being a woman of curious mind,
__Had often wondered what else there was to find;
__So while the man slumbered long and deep,
__She wandered far from Adam’s care and keep.
____She found a stream, which running course
______Meandered through a mead;
____She followed thence to find the source,
______Wherever it might lead,
As the waters lightly glided o’er the pebble stones,
And the jocund jets collided, sounding musical tones.
____And goodly were the groves of trees,
______And green the hillocks round;
____The birds a-twitter o’er the leas;
______How pleasant was the sound!
____And there was one, a certain tree,
______Its fruitful load did bear;
____‘Twas pity that she couldn’t see,
______The Snake abided there.
____He showed himself with human eyes
______And met her with a smile;
____She failed to see through his disguise
______And charm, which did beguile,
____“You’ve reached the tree of golden root
______And knowledge that you covet.
____Go ahead. Eat the fruit.”
______But Eve thought better of it.
____The juices dribbled down his chin
______As Satan took a bite;
____And Eve’s resistance soon wore thin,
______Much to the Snake’s delight.
__“I’ll try a piece,” she said, “but just a sliver.”
__She brought it to her parted lips a-quiver.
__She savored every chew and every swallow,
__Which filled her eyes with ecstasy and wonder;
__But little did she know that what would follow,
__Would tear her world of Paradise asunder!
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Cheryl Corey is a poet who lives in Connecticut. “Three Sisters,” her trio of poems about the sisters of Fate which were first published by the Society of Classical Poets, are featured in “Gods and Monsters,” an anthology of mythological poems (MacMillan Children’s Books, 2023).
“Eve in the Garden” is an excellent depiction of the biblical account of the fall of mankind into the mortal state called life. The varied meter adds interest to the wonderful rhyme.
Thank you, Roy. Just another creation from my somewhat kooky imagination.
Both these are marvellous. Eve’s naiveté is so well conveyed, one feels for her. With my Indian background I also loved that you incorporated Om and Brahma into the Creation. Amen!
Thank you, rohini. I’ve read that Brahma is known as the “sound god”, which is why I chose the reference.
Both are very good, Cheryl. “Let There Be Light” is an amazingly rapid summary of several concepts of creation. You work in sound and light as principal phenomena in a story that is indeed a story, though less discursive than longer accounts. I like the final “Amen” not only as rhyme, but as a way of declaring your own creation myth complete and satisfactory.
“Eve in the Garden” presents the Genesis narrative from the perspective of the woman, allowing you to give it additional color and new details. These thoroughly support the meaning of the original, not by changing anything, but by making it more fully comprehensible. It is interesting that you use both archaisms and contemporary vocabulary to good effect. This deserves to be in an anthology of Bible-inspired poetry.
With the first poem, I was thinking about the commonality of creation stories (as with stories of the Great Flood, too common to be dismissed as mere flukes); as well as the Big Bang theory and (without getting too much in the weeds) the science of sonic waves and the production of light. I can’t explain why the “Eve” poem turned out as it did, but as I’ve often said, sometimes a couplet or stanza pops into your head and boom–you’re off to the races. Thank you for your comments.
Two top-notch poems full of mystique! I felt like floating somewhere in the cosmos, surrounded by stars.
The universe is full of mystery, Satyananda–far beyond our knowing. I’m glad that you enjoyed the poems.
Cheryl, I liked the way you hypothesized how the event might have occurred, especially in the couplet: “… just a sliver / … lips-a-quiver.” This is true to life as we all are “deceived” (1 Tm 2:14), or deceive ourselves, into cautiously proceeding through a “little” temptation. I’ve paraphrased Genesis 3, sticking close to the text. But It is also interesting to propose a fuller account. Well done!
Thank you, Jeff. I love the challenge of meeting a rhyme!
Capturing a mood is not an easy thing to do with words, but Corey has done it very creatively. (pun intended)