Two Trees

Robert Hagedorn 1942 (Lakewood, Ohio)

They eat the fruit, but what do they eat?
We lift the veil, for a wary peak.
Through a forest of mystery hiding it all,
We see a body, naked and weak.

This BODY is the garden in whose center grow,
The two famous trees, but never a weevil.
Here is the tree of life and the one,
Of knowledge of good and knowledge of evil.

Because the two trees are right next to each other,
Care must be taken to avoid the one bad.
For the fruit of both trees is pleasure,
So the pleasure is there to be had.

To be fruitful and multiply, eat from the first.
But eat from the second and no one conceives.
So here we go now: one, two, three--
Pleasure, shame, fig tree leaves.

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Submitted by roberthagedorn1 on May 31, 2021

Modified on April 03, 2023

: 39 sec read
: 533 Views

Quick analysis:

Scheme	XAXA XBXB CDCD XEXE
Closest metre	Iambic pentameter
Characters	642
Words	132
Stanzas	4
Stanza Lengths	4, 4, 4, 4

Full analysis for Two Trees »

Robert Hagedorn

Bachelor of Music in Education, Baldwin-Wallace College 27 years study of Genesis allegory of Adam and Eve. more…

All Robert Hagedorn poems | Robert Hagedorn Books

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Symmetry58
This is exceptional writing and very well thought out, Rob. Props for a job well done.
LikeReply2 years ago
torre_d
Pretty sure you meant "peek" not "peak", and "Weevil" destroys an otherwise great poem, since it is obviously there solely to rhyme with "evil".
LikeReply 12 years ago
- RobertHagedorn
  The poem is included as a small portion of a book I wrote. My publisher recommended "peak" instead of "peek." Everything written has visual aspects. "Peak" looks better than "peek," which lends itself to "peekyboo." The unimportant "peak" also draws attention to the important "weak." And yes, "weevil" does rhyme with "evil," but "weevil" draws attention to the important word "evil." If you understand the meaning of the poem, you understand that neither of the two allegorical trees can be infested with literal weevils, which is also important. But your two points are well taken. There is always room for improvement. And your two points illustrate the poem's two weaknesses. more »
  LikeReply 12 years ago
Soulwriter
Very poignant.
LikeReply 12 years ago
UJ
I like it. I hope to be able to express myself so well someday in my poems.
LikeReply 32 years ago
Leocribs
I like the poem and its theme. The tree of life and tree of knowledge . Chose wisely . Subscribe to Leocribs Motications on YouTube. Check out spoken word poetry
LikeReply2 years ago

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