Annie Finch (1956-)
No Snake
1Inside my Eden I can find no snake.
2There's not one I could look to and believe,
3obey and then be ruined by and leave
4because of, bearing children and an ache.
5I circle down on Eden from above,
6searching the fields in solitude and love
7like a high hawk. She would never forsake
8this place that's made again of memory;
9she'd wait in that tree below me, spring
10out towards my growing shadow, let it bring
11a sudden hope that she could coil free;
12but she's not here. Only mountains that curve,
13and dip around the valley when I swerve,
14settle with dark heights, as I near the tree.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
This poem cannot be published anywhere without the written consent of Annie Finch.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text:
Publication date note: The Lyric Garden (December 24, 2000, Volume 1, Number 4)
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition:
Recent editing: 1:2004/6/16
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