Ophidia
written by: Courtney Glover
I was there, in the very beginning, a witness,
When life first sprang up and all was new.
I was there, as well, in the Garden of Eden
When God created first Adam and then Lilith,
And then Eve. I was there and I saw it all.
I saw Lilith refusing to do as Adam said.
Her need for them to be equal to the other.
I watched her, leaving through the great gate
Out into the world, all alone, determined.
I was there, when Eve was tempted by sin,
As the serpent whispered in her ear.
When curiosity was a forbidden fruit.
I watched as Eve then naively tempted Adam.
And I can tell you, with absolute certainty,
That it was no mere apple that was the cause.
The fruit itself was knowledge and knowledge
Was the fruit that grew on that tree in Eden.
And the serpent, well that was one of my kind.
Everyone assumes that it was Lucifer himself,
The Devil that tempted Eve into disobeying God.
That made her eat from the Tree of Knowledge,
But it wasn’t. There was no Devil and no Apple.
The serpent who caused original sin, was I.
There are many names for us, in every culture.
Naga, Dragon, Lamias, Shapeshifter, Gorgon.
And because of that one moment in Eden, we
Are cursed for all of eternity. There is no Heaven,
Not for us. There is no death, no peace, nothing.
Our judgment was perpetual purgatory.
Our punishment is to live, without respite.
The birth of sin, our mutually shared shame.
A single act cursed my kind. Perhaps one day,
A single act will bring us a reprieve, and peace.
Until then, we walk in shadows. We live, despite
Not wanting to. For immortality is a curse, no
Matter what anyone would have you believe.
It is our secret, our curse, our sin, our prison.
And I, Ophidia, the serpent, am to blame…
- Ophidia - August 27, 2024
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