"Adam's Hand," Jennifer Clarvoe

"or Michael taking Adam by the wrist"


Is that when Adam has to leave the garden?
Does Adam's hand hang down? Is Michael cruel,
or does he think if he took Adam's hand
it might seem like a comfort, cruelly seem
like something else for Adam to let go?
And Eve, who isn't mentioned in the poem,
I picture Eve with both hands clasped behind her,
but not lagging behind. Nobody speaks.
And when they hear the rustling in the grass,
which cannot be Eve's dress, since Eve is naked,
Adam sweats. But Eve? My Eve remembers
the sliver of apple underneath her tongue,
the sticky imprint left in Adam's palm.