Eve's Defense by Lauren Murphy

Eve’s Defense

Lauren Murphy

What’s so wrong about an apple?

What’s so wrong about a tree?

There are trees and trees bear fruit

And that red fruit was right for me.

And yet I’m down in history as sinful, shameless, foolish Eve.

What about that Lucifer?

Wasn’t he an angel once?

Didn’t You praise him and then he fell and now he’s cursed?

And yet he slithers from the ground and takes the apple from the tree

And You did not go banish him so why would You go banish me?

In my defense, I simply ate.

I ate in Eden’s gold estate.

I ate what serpents are free to take

But I , You say, made a mistake.

A sin, rather, curse to my kind.

With half a rib, I wouldn’t mind.

But I was born of another’s flesh.

I send my descendants to avenge my death.

Things to think about:

Why does the poem begin with questions?

Who is "me", the speaker of the poem?

What makes her different? Why must she live by a higher standard?

How does the rhythm of the poem change? How does the change in rhythm reflect a change in tone?

How does the tone shift in the last line?