pick a peach from the pile;
one kiss from the courtship,
one foot from the mile--
Eve took an apple, said it wasn't very much.
Eve took an apple, said thank you very much;
now I know how it goes
and see how it is--
He just don't like me taking anything of His.
Take an hour from the night,
won't get it back soon;
poison in the peach pit,
crazy in the moon.
Eve took an apple from a serpent in a tree.
Serpent had an angle, that's some geometry.
Eve ate the fruit,
tossed away the core--
if you want to see some skin, that'll cost a little more.
Take a peach from the pile
and the whole stack roll;
gonna make you pay forever for the hour that you stole.
One kiss more, one kiss less,
stay for the dance
then take back the dress.
Eve tried the cider that she got from the well.
If Adam gonna watch, then she make him wear a bell.
Snake bit the man,
bird caught the snake--
cat catch the bird and give a little shake.
Take a dime on the dollar
and a foot for the mile;
get a little somepin somepin
just for a while.
Eve take an hour from the hourglass round,
Eve leave Eden say I'll see you around.
Adam write the book
with a broad brush black--
write all you want, but it won't bring her back.
_______
for Real Toads.
clock art by Vandy Massey.
really enjoyed it! sing-song along.
ReplyDeleteI love "poison in the peach pit, crazy in the moon". Love the rhythm of this.
ReplyDeleteThis made me smile so big . . . loved the playful rhythm to this.
ReplyDeleteThat is some brimstone jumprope chant. This is twisty and evil and sly and all the best Eve-like qualities one can muster when dealing with the old Adam who is after everything just gotta point the finger...your peach is more magical than the original apple, really working all the angles-- the end result seems effortless and just rolls off the tongue and out Eden's gate. Buh-bye *sideways princess wave*
ReplyDeleteLove it Shay, especially
"One kiss more, one kiss less,
stay for the dance
then take back the dress."
Great rhythm and lyrical quality to this - so diverse in your poetry form and content
ReplyDeleteThis is the first poem of yours that I see as great lyrics to a song. I do not have the tune for you but I think Miranda Lambert would do justice to it!
ReplyDeleteHear that? It's me clapping a most worthy applause. I love how the idea of daylight saving has opened up a whole can of worms here.. going back to the original fall. I love your feisty Eve getting that man to wear a bell and high-tailing it out of Eden as fast as she can.
ReplyDeleteso beautiful rhythm and flow...
ReplyDeleteThe playfulness together with the serious core... yes very good... I think we need to look on Eve with new eyes... imagine to have to walk around in a garden the whole day.. yes she lead mankind to knowledge and I see the same thing happening today..
ReplyDeleteI read this like a song and I like how you used the loss of one hour to recreate the original story ~
ReplyDeleteThe fiery part of the character for me is here:
gonna make you pay forever for the hour that you stole.
Thanks for writing and linking up with Sunday Challenge ~ Wishing you happy Sunday, Shay ~
Ha--super clever, Shay. Really well done. k.
ReplyDeleteThis has such great rhythm! Awesome, girl!
ReplyDeleteThis has got to be one of my favorite jumprope chants of yours! Great rhythm and rhyme to it!
ReplyDeleteNew poetic turf I think.....
ReplyDeleteAloha
It does have that jump rope chant rhythm. Love it!
ReplyDeletePat
Critter Alley
no, it won't, will it ~
ReplyDeleteHello - thanks for writing this poem, I enjoyed it. The watch belonged to my Dad and then briefly to me. Vandy painted it for me recently. In case you are interested, you can read the story of the watch here:
ReplyDeletehttp://stopdoingdumbthingstocustomers.com/connection/lost-and-found/
Cheers - Doug