Creation
Creation of Adam by John Brueghel the Younger
November 15, 2018
You rested beneath Adam’s foot
in the Garden of Creation
and when Eve was created
you were swept into her throat
and made her cough
which stirred the serpent from its sleep
and though there was sin
there was also creation
and you created sin,
but you also created life.
You flowed up the river Tigris
drinking up its cooling body
until you were swept onto the banks
gluttonous and full
where the hands that met you
were not forgiving,
packing you into the walls of Sumer
where you were locked for many years
until the torment of the people –
a siege –
set you free
You drew fear from society
as you were pressed into clay
and formidable words
were drawn into your skin
that demanded revenge
and asked for teeth and eyes
and all of the things that people
most wanted to keep
until someone wanted them too much
and forgot
that you were
feared
You laid on the floor of the Cenacle
and stared into the heavens
when men entered
and with tailing robes
swept the floor clean
and launched you into their
supper, a table filled with
bread and wine
and there you saw the body of Christ
but Christ did not see you
You fell beneath feet once again
as Christ labored above you
and a man above him;
and as you witnessed a death
on a cross
you saw the face of Adam
and his face was placed
and wet with tears
and he said nothing
You felt the heaviness
of the miracle
and the exhale
of a faraway wind
and wondered that
if God created the universe
what was the difference
between you and
Him.
