eve dyingⁱ

by Alex Baskin

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we were so young back then. oh gosh.
we knew so little. each moment tasted so sweet.
the responsibility was too much to bear.

I adored the man. every bit of his skin bare.
he had no idea how to fry an egg. god
dropped by to visit us often. god smelled sweet.

it’s okay. I know about the rumors. sweeties.
my children. don’t cry. pumpkins. we’ve barely
gotten going. just remember. all your limbs are godly.

⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻
ⁱ Adam dies at Genesis 5:5. The Hebrew Bible says nothing about Eve’s death.

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Alex Baskin is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School. Rooted in over a decade of Buddhist practice and his upbringing in an orthodox Jewish family and community, he works as an interfaith hospital chaplain. His poetry appears in Gulf Coast, Lucky Jefferson, poetry.onl, Redivider, and elsewhere. Originally from New Jersey, he lives in Massachusetts.