A wide-eyed wild child,
Sprung from the rib of her brother,
The first woman was born free.
Shackled simply by her love for her father.
Burdened only by her insatiable curiosity.
Eve…
Was the little mermaid of the Jewish Genesis! Fiercely independent!
She sought wisdom the way a child seeks affection, Uninhibited.
Uncaring of the consequences of her desire,
Eve…
Was unafraid.
Made to be obedient.
But destined to be a rebel legend.
She bent the rules like molten metal!
Molding it in her mind – it made sense…
“Father would want me to know the difference between good and evil…”
So foraging for forbidden fruit,
She took the fate of the world in her fist.
Pioneering the very concept of the calculated risk, Eve…
Was unafraid.
But the world is far too harsh a thing to hold.
For human hands made so kind… so gentle,
Like fine-feathered-fingers grasping at cold… hard… metal.
It would fall in hands of anyone.
We would have fallen in the hands of anyone…
So don’t think about throwing your blame,
Like a skipping stone over still water,
Believing that it doesn’t hurt her,
It isn’t fair.
Yes… it bounces off of Eve; she’s a fairytale,
But the blame has to sink somewhere.
Right down the cascades of her bright red hair.
To her daughters,
Your daughters,
Our daughters, and sisters and mothers.
We watch them and guard them and treat them like they can’t do these things for themselves.
Like if we avert our eyes for a second it will make a catastrophic cast out of Eden difference.
That they’ll eat from a tree that no longer exists…
Put down the whip!
The horse is dead!
The fruit is gone!
That was circa… Genesis!!!
Let my sisters be!
Support their autonomy!
Don’t question their authority!
Don’t stifle their independence!
Forsake the lens of Adam!
A man too proud, too jealous to thank his sister…
For his wisdom…
Thank you Eve.
Submission by Ivan Leonce, Pride UBC Peer Counselling/On-the-DL Facilitator