Eden’s Lang Syne

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
~ Genesis 3.6
 
She ran to find him, to pull
her man to the center of
the middle of their world.
She’d never seen anything
like that first fir flocked just
so and wound round with
lights to rival the pleiades.
The man thought he’d witnessed
it all yet here was something
still to be named.
The woman reached to taste
the ornamental berries then
exchanged them with her man.
With that gift their child eyes
crimped with tears and they
shuddered in their natal skin for
then they knew what to call
the ache that comes from
swallowing creation’s splendor:
christmas.
 
 
 

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1 Comment

  1. Kelly Hausknecht Chripczuk on December 24, 2012 at 1:47 pm

    It occurred to me this year, as my husband and I had our annual fight over the tree (crooked as usual!) that men and women have been standing in the shadow of a tree arguing since the beginning of time. This helped me see the Christmas tree not as potentially perfect symbol of our great striving, but rather as a symbol of our brokenness and need. Love your words above.

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