By Harper McIntyre, TIWP Student

We were born with broken legs crying and unable to move
we walked on with broken legs keeping our tears in and learning to help ourselves
we were born in Eden
Eden is my home
Eden is dying inside me
with every sin I commit a reflection of everything Eve could have been
but I am no better than Eve
I would have bit the apple and made a pie out of 6 more
my legs are still broken
perhaps it’s because of her
Or maybe it’s Adam’s fault
What was his consequence?
What did he sacrifice?
Either way, Eden is dying
And there is nothing I can do to save my beloved home but plant my roots in its soil and hope that I am reborn as a mother
And I will grow more fruit less cursed than before
And it will be good fruit and my children will find it and remember Eden
remember their sins and mine and our mother Eve’s
And maybe we’ll remember Mary and carve her name with a heart into the tree that grows the fruit of forgiveness the tree of confession
Eden was our gift from God and the love that’s shared in it is our gift to God so we restore Eden,
even if our legs break a little more
It will never be as beautiful as God intended but it will grow with a mother’s love
it will flourish with a child’s heart,
Eden is reborn
we water the vines with our tears we’re supposed to hide away
Is this what God intended?
Is this what our savior bled for?
What Eden?
What paradise?
Eden is just a shadow for it foreshadows human nature
this is nothing new
Eden is a metaphor
Eden is nothing far from pure
But where did Eden go?
We were born with broken legs
bite marks in the apple
bite marks in our shins
Jesus could have saved us but Eden could never
Eden is a circular ending a full circle.
we were born into paradise as all babies are innocent children of God aware of no harm
we bit and bit and eventually we forgot about our home buried like pompeii,
Eden must rise from the ashes of every lust filled fantasy every jealous remark every prideful cry
in all of our sweet sweet sins Eden disappears so what I ask of you, my children and my mothers bury me please Bury me in Eden so that i can live again