Mixed Messages

I looked upon the beauty of Eden and thought
it was too perfect to be true. Why, I wondered,
would anybody open up the doors to Paradise
without charging a costly entrance fee?

Each time the sun rose, I felt the heat on my back;
it was slightly too warm, almost uncomfortable.
I felt like I was being threatened subtly,
drip-fed a time bomb. I waited.

After not much more than seven days, I suppose
He became bored. I watched the new tree grow
and He told me never to eat the fruit that
looked so tantalising. Temptation isn’t

temptation unless you’re not allowed to touch.
I wasn’t overly surprised when the snake
whispered in my ear, and wound itself
around me, tightening: effective persuasion.

I wondered why, if I was not allowed to eat
that fruit, it had been placed right in front of me;
it was as deliberate as a glowing neon sign
that spelled the words ‘DO NOT TOUCH;’

however, in the small print, a different message entirely.
I didn’t know why He wanted me to disobey,
but I was as bored as He was. I ate the tree bare.
It’s funny; the snake laughed just like Him.