“But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods1 knowing good and evil.’” -—Genesis 3:4 (NRSVUE)
evacuating eden
the snake is the only one who didn’t lie.
opening your eyes is living, not dying,
blessing, not cursing,
rising, not falling.
but it will cost you the home you know.
the paradox of awakening is that
you must leave paradise to grow up.
blooming under a foreign sun
far from your well-rehearsed origin story,
relinquish the expectations of others.
meet yourself in the gaze of strangers.
leave those you love to love them better.
may swords of fire block the path back.
embrace your exile.
—
The New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition makes a note here that the ancient Hebrew word elohim often translated “God” can also be translated as “gods.” Elohim is technically plural.
Powerful.