Poem: Adam’s Dream

First there was this strange sensation.
It felt like a finger running along my ribs.
It was quick, firm, with neither pleasure nor pain.
Then I was lying on my back.
A great tree took root between my legs.
In a moment it grew to its full height,
swaying in the wind.
Then it exploded into a glorious crown of fruit.
An angel of the Lord came with a flaming sword.
The angel of the Lord burned the tree to ashes.
I scooped the ashes up into the cup of my hands.
I rubbed the ashes into the skin of my chest and shoulders.
I rubbed the ashes into the skin of my arms and legs.
I found myself in a new place.
There was not a tree nor a bush nor any green thing.
The earth was red and hard beneath my feet.
But I was not alone in that new place.
Behind me I heard laughter and weeping.
I heard laughter and weeping behind me.