Poem-A-Week
Eden
by Josh Evans
Eve bit the apple on purpose
because she knew
perfection is the bane of humanity
Genesis is shelter in place
For the only biblical proof
God might be male
Because a Black woman's insight
To induce grace
Saved the world for millions of years
Until Jesus copied her and took all the credit
This planet is a drifting tomb through the universe A time bomb of damnation
Desperately clinking its treasure chest of bones Keepsakes from all the skeletons
Who escaped our closet
Trying to convince our idols
That we are gold
Without Black people
There is no redemption
No culture, no soul, no gravitational pull
Into the burning orbit of purpose
And without Black women
God doesn't exist
The best sons take after their mothers
Jesus was a mama's boy
Doing his best to reconcile a universe
Not shaped by his hands
Even as he hung on that cross
He knew
It was his Black God Mother
Who had already paid the price ultimate
Jesus knew he only had one experience that she did not Death.
The tongues of Black boys
Scar and crack
Like a Lion King showing at a meth lab
When Black Mothers die
We are never prepared
How can we be
Black Mothers
Black Aunts
Black Grannies
Are the life keeping our blue blood red
I remember this
When I look in my Granny's subtly aging eyes
And see Paradise staring back
Just a little dimmer
The island trees in her smile
Losing a little more of their wind
Prayers can't save her from dying
Anymore than rain can drown a pool
It's all water
And her river is bending back towards her source
I need more face time with her
My allegiance to contemporary, android living
Isn't worth the offering plate of tears
Regret's final sermon will demand of me
I cannot die for her
But I can live with her
So my upgrade is the same as hers
In spite of my years of decrying
The decline of Apostle Steve's vision
I will bite the apple
On purpose
Because imperfect track records
Are the only communion
The Black God Mother accepts
Josh Evans is a poet, storyteller, voice actor, and educator from Pasadena, California. He has read at Beyond Baroque, Avenue 50 Studio's La Palabra series, a Dignidad Literaria read-in, and was a feature poet in the Los Angeles Music Center's "For the Love of LA" production. Josh Evans has also performed at a plethora of engagements, including weddings, birthdays, conferences, and both private school and college events. His poems and essays have been published in the Café Con Libros inaugural anthology, Spectrum anthology, Angel’s Flight Literary Magazine, Altadena Poetry Review,
and the Los Angeles Poet Society's debut anthology "Los Angeles Poets for Justice: A Document for the People." His short story collection "Aces Wild" can be purchased on Amazon. Josh is online on Twitter/IG/ TikTok under @GriotJosh.