#danielle coffyn

[ducissatenebrarum]

IF ADAM PICKED THE APPLE

by DANIELLE COFFYN

There would be a parade,

a celebration,

a holiday to commemorate

the day he sought enlightenment.

We would not speak of

temptation by the devil, rather,

we would laud Adam’s curiosity,

his desire for adventure

and knowing.

We would feast

on apple-inspired fare:

tortes, chutneys, pancakes, pies.

There would be plays and songs

reenacting his courage.

But it was Eve who grew bored,

weary of her captivity in Eden.

And a woman’s desire

for freedom is rarely a cause

for celebration.

Nominated by North Meridian Review

[youridiculouswonderfulboy]

[e-rose]

[2glassesofchianti]

If Adam Picked the Apple

There would be a parade,

a celebration,

a holiday to commemorate

the day he sought enlightenment.

We would not speak of

temptation by the devil, rather,

we would laud Adam’s curiosity,

his desire for adventure

and knowing.

We would feast

on apple-inspired fare:

tortes, chutneys, pancakes, pies.

There would be plays and songs

reenacting his courage.

But it was Eve who grew bored,

weary of her captivity in Eden.

And a woman’s desire

for freedom is rarely a cause

for celebration.

- DANIELLE COFFYN

[sarikovskj]

If Adam Picked the Apple there would be a parade, a celebration, a holiday to commemorate the day he sought enlightenment. We would not speak of temptation by the devil, rather, we would laud Adam’s curiosity, his desire for adventure and knowing. We would feast on apple-inspired fare: tortes, chutneys, pancakes, pies. There would be plays and songs reenacting his courage.

But it was Eve who grew bored, weary of her captivity in Eden. And a woman’s desire for freedom is rarely a cause for celebration.

"If Adam picked the Apple" by Danielle Coffyn (2024)

[eunoiareview]

Hubris

I hear the wings first, thumping like an irregular heartbeat. A ruby-breasted robin panic-flaps against the heat-cracked concrete. Twists, jerks, unable to take flight. Happy yellow daffodils sing in the foreground & I, unfeathered, & arrogant intervene—grab the roughened tip of a stick. Steady it back on trembling legs. For a moment, I succeed. It looks at me, gracious head tilted on crooked…

[eunoiareview]

Inheritance

You left molars & a mason jar of fermented rage. No note. No ghost. Each morning I examine the collective wisdom of your dislodged teeth. I am haunted by decaying ivory & rancid quiet. When I ask the sun to stop smiling, she declines. Flaunts marmalade beams across darkening sky. Dances solo. Grins. Love rarely conquers anything. Danielle Coffyn (she/her) is a Belgian-American poet and writer.…

[eunoiareview]

Heart-Howl

Coyote cries at twilight, honey thick, marrow deep. Her heart-howl a whistle of want. Here in the San Luis Valley beauty is a sun-bleached bison skull buried in the superbloom. Death is alive— cleaved heart, stripped bone. Desire dying for survival. Danielle Coffyn (she/her) is a Belgian-American poet and writer. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and author of If Adam Picked the Apple,…