The way Adam and Eve loved one another,
regal and yet somehow down to earth.
They had nobody else, for far and near,
where the devil was their like to be seen?
Sleep was the thing that gratified them most.
Adam’s stench and Eve’s grunting broadcast
far and wide news of their peace, their treasure.
The way Adam and Eve loved one another,
as creatures do, with no alternative.
Finding far off an edible root, each
called to the other: Why not try this too?
Sleep was the thing that gratified them most.
Adam’s bristles, Eve’s damp spots left them stuck
to one another like a shaving brush.
Adam and Eve, though, never loved each other.
It never crossed their minds what they were doing.
Love reflects on itself. Look, I’m like this,
you’re like that, I, you, do it to each other.
It’s pointless sleeping in a glorious stink,
a grunting shaving brush, unless you know
what you are doing. Loving needs a mirror.