Monday, August 10, 2020

Serpent Seed



painting by Kari Christensen

Serpent Seed


“The Serpent mated with Eve, in the Garden of Eden,

and the offspring of their union was Cain”.

--from the Gnostic Gospel of Phillip.



Eden

was First Garden,

for a time,

until Eve learned

to speak Parseltongue,

and decided

to partake

of forbidden fruit.


She bit off

more than 

she could chew.

Women

started off

with a bad reputation

from the Get.


But.

in my life,

women rule.



Glenn Buttkus


Quadrille at 44 words.


Posted over at d'Verse Poets Pub

22 comments:

brudberg said...

They ruled then as well... alas men only learned to use his fist to conquer the woman... there must be a better way...

Linda Lee Lyberg said...

Well done, Glenn!

Sanaa Rizvi said...

This is incredibly potent!πŸ’ I love the inclusion of "Parseltongue."

Victoria said...

So clever, Glenn. I guess I believe that the team approach to decision making works best and if only Eve had consulted her man...

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

I am chuckling at your post here, Glenn. I reread the Harry Potter series this summer - for the third time. And we just finished last night, watching all the movies....so seeing that Eve speaks Paseltongue in Eden....just perfection! :)
I've misses reading your posts lately? Hope all is okay with you, my friend.
PS: I've always hated snakes!

Lucy said...

Ah, I was wondering when someone would incorporate the Garden of Eden and Eve! You did this marvelously, Glenn. I enjoyed the themes incorporated here; they evoke a sense of power. A fantastic take on the prompt. You write beautifully, as always.

Jade Li said...

...gospel as written by a man. I appreciate your appreciation for the female spirit, Glenn. Your poem brings to mind one of Tom Robbins' books, "Skinny Legs and All." There is a passage in their about Salome that brought it to mind.

Mish said...

Thanks for acknowledging the struggle from the beginning.

sarah said...

Nice one, Glenn - I love your irreverant humour here.

Merril D. Smith said...

I was also wondering if someone would write about this garden. In my opinion, men fearful of women wrote them as weak and susceptible to evil. I won't go on a rant though. 😏 I'm glad women rule in your life.

calmkate said...

really appreciate your nod to women and HP!

It is said over here that if those first two were First Nation ppl we would be a sinless society coz they would have left the apple and eaten the snake ...

Ken Gierke said...

Nice take on the prompt.

Gillena Cox said...

That image is startling and fidgive me your poem gave me a chuckle 😁😁😁
Happy Wednesday

Much✏love

Ron. said...

Marvelous work, indeed, Glenn. Salute.

Dwight L. Roth said...

I have heard it said that men think they are the head, but women are the neck that turn the head! Strong women have made their mark in the world over time. Great poem Glenn!

Truedessa said...

Beware of the language of serpents. You had me smiling a bit on this one and I don't seem to smile much anymore. Thank you for that.

Mrityunjay Dixit said...

the last stanza puts a smile on my face. amazing!

Bill said...

Nice, tightly woven story. Enjoyed reading it.

A Reading Writer said...

your ending made the woman in me chuckle. a good one!

Jane Dougherty said...

And the moral of that story is, if you're going to defy God, don't count on your wuss of a partner to back you up.

Christine said...

I love that you started with the garden of Eden and ended with the present.

Raivenne said...

I knew someone was going to take on Eden when I saw the prompt. '...from the Get'. I adore that you capitalized "Get" for that truly was the beginning. I smiled at Parseltongue; the modern applied to the ancient. There are some in the patriarchy who like to site Eve as the reason the world is no longer run through the matriarchal power. I have watch some grown men turn oh so meek when Mama calls them by their full name in a certain tone and grin knowing we still rule indeed.