The Serpent’s Tale by Sam Friedman

Note to reader: this piece looks best when viewed on a larger screen. Some formatting may not display correctly on mobile.

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them,
for I, the LORD your God,
am a jealous God."

…and on the sixth day,

as the sun rose over the Garden of Eden,

God created

cats

to adore him

and rub his bloated Ego.

And so they did

as he fed them treats,

as he dangled toys for them to swat,

as he changed litter boxes,

as he opened doors for them to go outside,

as he opened doors for them to come inside,

as he opened doors for them to go outside again,

as he opened doors for them to come inside,

again, and again, and again.

By noon, God created women to tend the cats

and be adored,

and men to adore God and cats.

And finally, on the seventh day,

with a sigh that set off supernovas in 876 galaxies,

he rested.

Later that week, well rested, he took umbrage at Eve

since the cats adored her. He salved his jealous Ego

by ousting Eve, Adam, and the cats from Eden.

Over the next millennium or two, he told tall tales

about serpents and apples

to save his Godly face.

Bio

Sam Friedman writes: "I have been writing poetry for approximately 40 years, and benefitting from the Murphy Workshops for about 25 of them. I am a population health professor, a social activist, and a socialist as well as a poet."

Author's note

Each of my poems in this issue provides a modern take on ancient stories. "The Serpent’s Tale" reinterprets the Biblical Garden of Eden parable, and "Lyre" is a recreation of the Greek myth of Orpheus. Each of them had its inspiration from a virtual workshop sponsored by the amazing Murphy Writing program at Stockton University. "The Serpent’s Tale" grew out of a workshop on Building Worlds led by Christine Salvatore, "Lyre" from one on The Poet’s Myth led by Jason Mitchell.