Eve to
Her Daughters
(Judith
Wright, 1915 – 2000)
It was
not I who began it.
Turned
out into draughty caves,
hungry
so often, having to work for our bread,
hearing
the children whining,
I was nevertheless
not unhappy.
Where
Adam went I was fairly contented to go.
I
adapted myself to the punishment: it was my life.
But
Adam, you know ….. !
He kept
on brooding over the insult,
over the
trick They had played on us, over the scolding.
He had
discovered a flaw in himself
and he
had to make up for it.
Outside
Eden the earth was imperfect,
the
seasons changed, the game was fleet-footed,
he had
to work for our living, and he didn’t like it.
He even
complained of my cooking
(it was
hard to compete with Heaven).
So he
set to work.
The
earth must be made a new Eden
with
central heating, domesticated animals,
mechanical
harvesters, combustion engines,
escalators,
refrigerators,
and
modern means of communication
and
multiplied opportunities for safe investment
and
higher education for Abel and Cain
and the
rest of the family.
You can
see how his pride had been hurt.
In the
process he had to unravel everything,
because
he believed that mechanism
was the
whole secret – he was always mechanical-minded.
He got to
the very inside of the whole machine
exclaiming
as he went, So that is how it works!
And now
that I know how it works, why, I must have invented it.
As for
God and the Other, they cannot be demonstrated,
And what
cannot be demonstrated
doesn’t
exist.
You see,
he had always been jealous.
Yes, he
got to the centre
where
nothing at all can be demonstrated.
And
clearly he doesn’t exist; but he refuses
to
accept the conclusion.
You see,
he was always an egotist.
It was
warmer than this in the cave;
There was
none of this fall-out.
I would
suggest, for the sake of the children,
that
it’s time you took over.
But you
are my daughters, you inherit my own faults of character;
you are
submissive, following Adam
even
beyond existence.
Faults
of character have their own logic
and it
always works out.
I
observed this with Abel and Cain.
Perhaps
the whole elaborate fable
right
from the beginning
is meant
to demonstrate this; perhaps it’s the whole secret.
Perhaps
nothing exists but our faults?
At least
they can be demonstrated.
But it’s
useless to make
such a
suggestion to Adam.
He has
turned himself into God,
who is
faultless, and doesn’t exist.
In
my own attempt at poetry, I toy with that style where it’s some time in history
ages ago and the poet imagines how the characters might have acted and felt at
the time – sort of like how it is with Eve
to Her Daughters. I imagine this
with characters who actually met Jesus – before anybody was ever to discover
that he was famous ……..
Yes, I Remember Jesus
John’s Gospel,
Chapter 1, verses 35 - 39. Andrew and
Phillip on meeting Jesus.
Yeah, me and Phillip
just happened to be helping out
with old John,
when this guy walks by,
and we’re looking at him
when John pipes up and says,
there goes the lamb of God.
The lamb of God?!
You don’t say!
We knew enough
about the lamb of God,
being John’s disciples for so long,
always going on about it, anyway
we decide to follow this, ‘lamb of God!’.
We’re sort of trailing him,
staying back a little,
when he suddenly turns around,
like he knew we were trailing him.
He says, what are you two trying to find?
Surprised us, it did
and we were a bit lost for words,
so we blurted something stupid, like
teacher,
um, just wondering
where you’re staying.
I thought he would tell us
to rack off
but he didn’t.
In fact,
he invited us back to his place
and we talked
and hung out
most of the day.
John’s Gospel, Chapter 2, verses 1 - 5. Mary on events at the wedding.
I remember it well,
We were having such a good
time at the wedding,
when word went around
that they’d run out of wine.
Like, how does that happen?
Poor organizing, I reckon.
Anyway, I mentioned it to my
son
because he looked as if he was
heading for a refill,
when he goes and snaps at me,
Woman!
Woman! he says,
How rude!
To me his mother!
And he says, what does your
concern have to do with me?
Your concern!
Well, excuse me!
My concern!?
Honestly, I could have slapped
his face,
right there and then, but
he mumbles, my hour has not
yet come.
Oh, pissed, I thought
I can see why there’s no wine!
And to the servants who were
hanging around
I just turned and snapped
whatever he says to you, do it!
John’s
Gospel, Chapter 4, verses 4 - 26. A
Samaritan woman on fetching water at Jacob’s well.
Oh, that fellow,
I remember,
bit of a charmer, he was.
It was about midday,
when I went down to the well
to get some water,
and when I gets to the well,
there’s this fella
sitting on the edge,
not bad looking, mind you,
tall, dark,
but still, a Jew,
so definitely out of my league.
Anyway, I don’t say anything,
draws the water,
and he goes and asks me for a drink.
I says, how can you, a Jew
be asking me, a Samaritan, for a drink?
I was a bit cheeky,
but he takes it in his stride,
and says to me, that if I knew
I happened to be talking to God,
then I would have asked, him
for a drink,
and he, would have given me,
living water.
Now he’s being cheeky,
so I play along,
but sir, you don’t even have a bucket,
and the cistern is deep, so
how can you possibly
get this living water?
And he keeps it going, with
how you will always be thirsty again
after drinking water from the well,
but you will never thirst
if you drink living water.
I laughed, and asked him,
kind sir, to give me this water then,
so I wouldn’t have to go
to the well anymore.
He was nice.
Then he asked me
if I was married,
and I thought, here we go,
I told him I didn’t have a husband
and he comes straight back
and says I was right about that!
that I’d had five husbands,
not counting my current partner!
Amazing!
I’ve been to clairvoyants
who were never that clever.
I was sure he had to be a prophet,
even the Messiah
……. and he didn’t say he wasn’t.
J. O. White.
