Poem of the Week #61

part dirt

when the maker first
romped in the dirt
to make every plant,
and every animal,
and every living thing
with the seed in it,
the maker stood back
and saw that it was good

heady business that;
to divide water from water
place stars in the sky
breath life into dirt
and dig out a rib
from the first man
to make the first woman

the man and the woman—
one and the same—
dreamed flesh of flesh
and bone of bone,
wrapped flesh around
bone, to make one
from two. Part dirt,
part deity; the one
with two faces, looking
for the right mirror

later, after the apple
had been eaten,
the core tossed,
and their nakedness
uncovered,
they would search
the ground forever,
hoping to find
what had made them,
and what in the world
had gone missing

Lisa Vihos