Poetry: “Eve, Unfallen” by CP Nwankwo
CP Nwankwo’s poem takes the ancient biblical myth of Eve and gives her a new song to sing. Instead of the fall of mankind being something that happened to Eve, in this telling, she chooses knowledge and wisdom and to walk out into the world. Though subtle, the personification of the garden of Eden itself is of particular interest; the garden has “a mother’s hands,” a “pulsing vein,” a “curled glare.” The garden’s mango tree bends and her river sings Eve’s praises. Many have spoken of the relationship between Eve and the serpent or Eve and her husband, but few have considered her relationship to the earth, and to the garden, as Nwankwo does eloquently here.
Read Nwankwo’s poetry below.
Eve, Unfallen
felt at dusk, how the earth
opened like melted love. how the
air turned soft yellow like ripened
pawpaw. the wind wraps around
my shoulders like a mother’s
hands. they never tell you how
the river sang my praises,
how the mango tree bent low
in glory. how I traced
sweetly into the depths of my
husband’s bones. & in Eden’s
pulsing vein, no one speaks of
a woman. no one speaks
of the first time I saw the fruit—
how it glowed, like a secret
aching to be spoken aloud.
how it pulsed, like a glance
that stole my breath. & tell
me, does the sight now
refuse to forgive itself? & tell
me, if knowing was a sin,
why let the tree root here?
if hunger was a curse, why
give me a mouth? yes, the
serpent did not fear wisdom,
did I? yes, the ground turned
to stone beneath me. yes,
the garden curled her glare
to a close. but the world
did not end. outside the walls,
the sun still rose. the rain
still ran. nothing waited for
any. I do not owe myself
the grief for naming my own
hunger. I did not fall.
I walked into the rest of the world.
CP Nwankwo
CP Nwankwo (he/him), SWAN IV, identifies as an apprentice poet. He writes from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He is the Winner, Labari Prize for Poetry, 2025. He is published/forthcoming in Palette Poetry, Mizna, Magma, Heartlines Spec, Strange Horizon, Reckoning, Consequence Forum, Bracken, Abyss & Apex, Big Score Lit, Poetry ColumnNND, and elsewhere. He tweets @ CP Nwankwo.
