The Fruit

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

Genesis 3:6

In the heart of Eden, a majestic tree

stands erect and decorated with bountiful fruit.

It is said to be an extension of God:

omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent like Him.

Consuming the fruit it bears

is a sacrilege of the divine.

However, a fruit hangs low and beckons

to the First Woman of Creation.

It glistens, sways, and holds its breath

like an atomic bomb before it kisses life and sow destruction.

Eve heeds the call of temptation and shares the fruit

with Adam that banishes them from paradise.

In this moment, I cannot help but think

that I am Eve but there is no garden brimming with life.

Instead, there are walls painted ghastly white,

the smell of chlorine saturates the air, and the shadow of death is near.

In my hand, I am holding an apple that I bought

from the kind old lady in the local market.

The doctor’s fee was so expensive so I had to pick

the cheapest apple with brown scars.

Just like Eve, I try to feed you fruit

even if your mouth is too weak to open.

But unlike Eve, this fruit will not cast you out of heaven.

It will give me more time with you

so we could eat all the rambutan and santol

in our garden back home that ripen every summer.

Now that you are gone, I only have the birds

to share the fruits with.

Sometimes, I pretend to believe that

they’re your kiss from heaven.