David Henson
New Genesis
Eve wasn’t
made from rib,
she grew in heartwood.
The apple didn’t
blossom on a tree,
it sprang from the dark
heart of a serpent.
The snake wasn’t cast
down from above,
it emerged
from garden clay.
Adam was forged
in the heavens
from the same star
stuff that became
heartwood,
apple,
serpent,
and even the dark
heart of Cain,
whose atoms one day
will return to the stars.
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David Henson and his wife have lived in Brussels and Hong Kong and now reside in Illinois. His work has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes, Best of the Net and Best Small Fictions and has appeared in numerous journals including Gone Lawn, The Orchards Poetry Journal, Front Porch Review, The Lake, South Florida Poetry Review and Moonpark Review. His website is http://writings217.wordpress.com. His Twitter is @annalou8.
Backstory: The genesis of the poem comes from my interest in science. During my working years, I traveled many international flights and enjoyed reading various science books to pass the time. My favorites were “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking and anything by Paul Davies. I’ve often looked for opportunities to cross-pollinate my interest in science and creative writing. The idea of everything originating from the atoms of stars seemed a natural for a science-ish origin story. As for crafting elements, I wanted to use straight-forward language and short lines as a kind of contrast to the “cosmic” subject matter.
Editor’s Notes: More about Paul Davies here: https://cosmos.asu.edu/
Image Credit: God creating the cosmos (Bible moralisée, French, 13th century)
