In Search of the Woman Thing

We came in through the undergrowth

To a patch of blasted trees,

Then checked the radiation that

Had brought earth to its knees,

The skyscrapers were gaunt and tall

They rose like a cankered cell,

Of shattered forms, all overgrown

With a weed spawned straight from hell.

 

Then Roach said that we should wait awhile,

Make sure it had stabilised,

We’d seen what happened to men before

When they glowed, before our eyes,

But that had been thirty years before,

When men had made mistakes,

We’d not seen a man since we began

Living on rats and snakes.

 

I vaguely recalled the woman thing

That had held me in her arms,

Who cooed and cried when the lightning died

And the bells shrieked in alarm,

But we hadn’t seen a woman thing

For years, for they all died out,

It was something to do with ovaries

And things we don’t know about.

 

We’d met as a pair of ragamuffins

Roaming over the plains,

Hiding under a hollow tree

To avoid the acid rains,

Our skin was scarred, and our life was hard

But we managed to survive,

And now, as far as we knew we were

The only men alive.

 

I knew she’d read from the Bible for

That was a woman thing,

She taught me plenty of words back then

And showed me scribbling,

So I read fragments to Roach who said

He’d had something called a sis,

I had a piece of a Bible, torn

That was just called Genesis.

 

We smiled at the thought of a world that was

Quite empty, just as now,

But set in a fabulous garden with

A God, we’d find somehow,

And in there was the name of a man

My woman thing gave to me,

And while he slept, the God man kept

A rib, and he called it Eve.

 

The city that lay before us may

Have well been Babylon,

But silent now and deserted with

Its ancient people gone,

We wandered into its cluttered streets

And we saw the things of men,

All scaled with rust and a loss of trust

It would never come again.

 

It was there that we found a woman thing

Who was scarred, and scared as well,

For she’d never seen a man before

And thought that we’d come from hell,

She sat, backed into a corner,

And begging us both to leave,

But I said I was known as Adam, so

She must have been known as Eve.

 

And then that night, we had a fight

I committed a mortal sin,

I killed my friend as he went to bend

Over the woman thing,

And God roared out with his thunder,

I would always be to blame,

And then decreed in my hour of need

I would call my first son Cain.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Barbz]

It must have been in times, B.C, this, that you write about. After life's destruction, when all sun's lights went out. Causing mass destruction, of natures gifts and men, and void of ovaries, the females that lived then. Lucky for survival, but missing of the fem, they recalled the memory, perhaps of one of them. She referenced to the Bible, the First Testament, and In The beginning, the woman should repent. The best of this amazing poem, is not about her sins, it's all about the poet, and his amazing Spins. Another great work, Sir David....it surely is!! Barbz

[A Soap Mess Stories]

Interesting tale, DLP, intrigued as always.

[Frozen Eyes]

A very different one. What I liked most is the title and the relevance of it being unfolded in the poem piece by piece. Thank U for sharing :)

[Bright Ocean Star]

A woman thing...brilliant, David. I love this one. Very different from the Groto. You have such an amazing range of topics. Love it!

[Sindu]

It seems inevitable that the future may collide with the past. Brilliant poetry. Loved it.

[Marie]

I believe this is both post-apocalyptic and a take on Adam and Eve. Certainly evil was brought in to the picture, as jealousy always destroys friendship.

[ANTO]

What a creative alternative David - I wish i had read DLP instead of Gideon at school - much more entertaining and without the thee and thou. Obviously spiritual in nature but with a mdern twist. I imagined Charlton Heston hammering his fist on the ground in front of the skyscraper - "GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL !" - it has that doughnut shape to it - recurring apocalypse and regenerating civilization. My new DLP favourite!! (Sorry mate - I know I say that every time I read you but I cant help it).

[R Smith]

a brilliant idea David, the holocaust of nuclear war is behind us and Adam and Eve come back again a superb piece of deja vu, probably the biggest ever, just amazing :)

[Valentine]

This kept me reading from beginning to the end. This is well laid out and catchy phrased. You took something thousands of years old and made part of it your own. I also had to laugh in parts. Another great write, I loved it..Kathie

[MomzillaNC]

Whether it's post-apocalyptic or a new take on the story of Adam and Eve, it's brilliant.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Indeed darling, the daring brothers and forgotten times they share, well done, good read.