Limericks about the Garden of Eden

The story of Adam and Eve is one that every child hears. Seemingly simple on its surface, the age old myth contains layers and layers of possibilities. And that’s why it keeps drawing me back.

Every time I think I see the light, I stumble upon a new interpretation. And every time I revisit the Garden of Eden, I undercover new shades of meaning.

Basically, I read the story of Eden as a metaphor for the emergence of human consciousness, one of the greatest mysteries known to philosophers and theologians. In the Garden there is paradise, innocence, and an uninformed unity with all things. By consuming the fruit of forbidden knowledge, man embraces his ego, he differentiates himself and breaks free from the cosmic unity.

The Fall is an essential stage of psychological development. It brings an understanding of the pairs of opposites, birth and death, good and evil, sacred and profane. Knowledge of our own mortality gives us something to chew on, but it’s not easy to swallow.

From that point on, the individual suffers the cycles of desire and fulfillment, while seekers of wisdom endeavor to restore the oneness and rediscover the Tree of Life. But there are two paths to go by. One is a return to the uninformed unity of childish fantasies, and the other is an advance to the informed unity of enlightenment. I opt for the other one.

Forerunner of Deception
In Eden the fruit was abundant, O gracious!
But Yahweh said one was unduly salacious
“You’ll die from one bite”
But the kids were alright
So His very first words were mendacious

The Apple of Eden
There’s a tree in the garden with fruit so delicious
Its sweetness suggestive of nothing malicious
But a bite for mankind
Would open his mind
To a knowledge of opposites much too pernicious

The Tree of Knowledge
Consciousness came like a curse in the morning
That slithering serpent she did the informing
Mortality’s vexing
But the knowing’s perplexing
The rest of God’s creatures can pass without warning

The Fall
Back in the Garden, ere taking a bite
Before any knowledge of wrong or of right
All branching from one
We basked in the sun
But now we’re condemned to the darkness of night

Of Knowledge and Life
Grow up in the garden and fall from the tree
Out of untainted tranquility
From unified whole
To the southernmost pole
Then venture to gain immortality

Further Reading

In the beginning was the worm

The night before Christmas, revisited

Beatified Limericks for All Saints’ Day