Two Trees
Two Trees
Look there my love, in the midst of the garden, two trees stand side by side,
But may we eat of both of them, and under their shade abide?
Nay my love, of this one tree, we may neither eat nor touch,
Do you not remember just today, our Maker said as much?
But dear, ‘tis such a lovely tree, and pleasant to my eyes,
But dear the Master said who eats of this tree surely dies;
Then came a quiet whisper floating softly on the breeze,
Hath not your Master said that ye may eat of all the trees?
Why should you not partake of this, for is it not your right?
And didn’t your Maker make you ruler of all that’s in your sight?
I say dear lady, be not afraid, for the fruit shall make you wise,
And you shall know the secrets of the seas and of the skies;
The two of you shall be as gods, with the world at your feet,
With only one small taste of this delicious treat;
Oh linger not dear lady, eat it now, and do not fear,
For as you can see my lovely one, your Master is nowhere near;
And why would He restrain you from a single fruit as this?
Could it be that in His counsel something is amiss?
“Tis I and I alone whose words are honest and true,
And why should one fruit be withheld from one as lovely as you?
But sir how may I know that your word is not a lie,
For God has said that if I eat it, that day I’ll surely die;
Oh lovely one, the choice is your’s, which way your mind shall go,
But if you eat not of this fruit, then you will never know;
I see dear sir, and with your words I cannot disagree,
And all the angels in Heaven watched, as she reached toward the tree;
A single choice, one decision, based on the words of a stranger,
Questioning the Word of her own Maker, she brushed aside the danger;
See now my love, I have eaten the fruit, and I am living still,
I beg of you, come eat with me, do not oppose my will;
My dear is the fruit as sweet to the taste as your voice is to me?
Take it my love, taste for yourself, and surely you will agree;
As she raised the fruit to Adam’s lips, he gave in to her smile,
Looking deep into her eyes, trembling all the while;
The serpent’s voice whispered again, you shall not surely die,
But once the fruit had touched his tongue, he knew it was a lie;
Their eyes now met in horror at their nakedness and shame,
As hastily the man and wife now sought someone to blame;
Now each of them was certain that the crooked serpent had lied,
As quickly each of them now ran to find a place to hide;
With trembling hearts and trembling hands, and tears upon their face,
Among the trees they hid themselves in terror and disgrace;
Upon each other’s nakedness they were ashamed to look,
Turning their backs to each other, some fig leaves each now took;
It was the best that they could do to hide their shame for now,
They’d simply make the best of it, and carry on somehow;
Would God come looking for them? And would He love them still?
Or could they bear to face Him, having disobeyed His will?
And then they heard a familiar voice, it seemed not far away,
It was the voice of God Himself, walking in the cool of the day;
They held onto each other, cringing in dread and fear,
Where art thou Adam? The voice rang, and they knew that He was near;
I am over here my Lord, hidden among the trees,
And again the voice of God resounded upon the evening breeze;
Why must you hide from Me my child, tell Me what hast thou done?
I was naked Lord, and hid myself, and from Thee I have run;
Who told thee thou wast naked? Have you eaten of the tree?
My Lord, my heart was overcome by the Woman You made for me;
Oh Woman what is this I hear? Are you both now defiled?
I listened to the serpent Lord, and so I was beguiled;
Oh vile and crooked serpent, on thy belly shalt thou go,
Till the Seed of the Woman bruise thy head, and all the world shall know;
That I am True and thou a Liar, and that I am God alone,
And the Woman’s Seed, My beloved Son shall rule upon His Throne;
And cursed be the Earth itself, for thorns and thistles shall grow,
And you my son shall till the fields, in sorrow shalt thou sow;
Thy brow shall sweat, thy back shall bend, thy heart shall sorely yearn,
For from the dust were ye taken, and to dust shall ye return;
In sorrow shall the Woman conceive, and the man shall be her head,
In the sweat of his face the man shall toil, and earn his daily bread;
And now before your very eyes, another deed I must do,
Innocent blood must now be shed, so that I may cover you;
Your aprons of leaves that you have made can never hide your sins,
The Lord Himself then slew the Lambs, and made them coats of skins;
And so the two were driven from the garden at God’s word,
Looking back they saw the Tree of Life and a flaming sword;
Now banished from the Garden, they faced a life of toil,
As each day Adam bent his back turning up the soil;
He grieved with every painful step, sweating beneath the sun,
As thorns and thistles cut his legs till the weary day was done;
And then one day while in the field, he heard a horrible scream,
He dropped his plow, ran through the thorns, and leaped across the stream,
Inside the tent he saw his wife, holding a baby boy,
And for a while they forgot their troubles, and shared a bundle of joy;
Oh Adam, God has given a son, I have even forgotten my pain,
And dear he looks so much like you, I think I’ll call him Cain;
Here in my arms I hold the Seed, just as the Lord has said,
Perhaps he’ll be the very one to smite the serpent’s head;
Oh may the good Lord hasten the day when sin shall be no more,
For since the day we ate the fruit, it surely has vexed us sore;
Oh yes my dear, I share your thoughts, I too remember that day,
When all the bliss of Paradise was suddenly taken away;
Yet in my heart I have a hope that God will prevail somehow,
And make the life of all mankind much better than it is now;
I still recall the solemn words our Master said that day,
About the shedding of innocent blood, to take our sin away;
I do not understand it all, but I believe it still,
Though we have sinned, He yet forgives, and keeps us in His will;
And though my sin bring me to death, and cause me grief and pain,
Somehow I know that innocent blood will bring me life again;
And so the couple raised their son, and taught him all they knew,
They watched him play among the clover, wet with the morning dew;
And though they had their troubles and trials, they also shared some joy,
And a few years later Eve gave birth to another baby boy;
Now Cain learned quickly from his father, how to sow and reap,
But Abel very soon became a keeper of the sheep;
His heart was set on being a shepherd, and Cain loved tilling the sod,
Then one day both of them brought offerings to their God;
In reverent faith Abel brought the firstlings of his sheep,
And Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, a large and goodly heap;
Each of them was certain he was doing what was right,
And surely both the offerings would be pleasing in God’s sight;
Upon Abel and his offering, God smiled with acceptance and favor,
The blood and body of the lamb sent up a sweet-smelling savor;
And Cain was sure that God would accept his offering as well,
But when God refused him and his offering, then Cain’s countenance fell;
His anger was kindled against the Lord, and against his brother too,
And in his wicked heart he then decided what he’d do;
He plotted to take his brother’s life, he’d find a time and place,
And in the field his brother saw the hatred in his face;
And there Cain slew his brother while no one was around,
But God saw the innocent blood as it soaked into the ground;
Adam and Eve saw their son’s dead body, and screamed with a mournful cry,
As again the words of God echoed - Ye shall surely die!
Ye shall surely die!
Ye shall surely die!
Ye shall surely die!
Arvil Jones
