Mary and Eve

Mary and Eve

Michael Stalcup

after a painting by Sister Grace Remington

Then Mary took Eve’s hand—
which once had felt the tender flesh
of the forbidden fruit, plucked fresh,
defying God’s command

in favor of the snake’s:
“You’ll be like gods!” the snake had lied,
and so she’d eaten, fallen, died,
watched all creation break—

and yet, within that curse
had burned a seed, sown like a spark,
that sang of freedom from the dark
in veiled and pregnant verse.

Eve laid her sin-stained hand
on Mary and her hidden Kin
and felt the Promise kick within
her womb: their God made man!

The snake had left her dead—
this child whose very name meant Life—
but here she touched, amid her strife,
the One who’d crush its head.

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Michael Stalcup
Poet & Missionary

Michael is a Thai-American missionary living in Bangkok, Thailand. His poems have been published in Commonweal Magazine, First Things, Sojourners Magazine, and elsewhere. He co-teaches Spirit & Scribe, a workshop integrating spiritual formation and writing craft. You can find his work at michaelstalcup.com.

Photograph by Jon Tyson