by Morgan Carlock Clark

When Eve finds Abel’s flock,
the sheep surround

him– the slaughtered lamb.
She shoves them aside,

reaching for her son
to clutch his broken skull.

My son, come back.
I will protect you, 

keep you in my womb.
Let me give my blood 

again for you.
She strokes his bruised cheeks

and remembers God’s promise– 
You shall surely die.

“So, this, my child,” 
she mourns, “is death.”

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Morgan Carlock Clark has been published in Southeast Missouri State University Press, the Underground Writers Association, Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, and Sundog Lit. She received an MFA from Seattle Pacific University and currently teaches creative writing online at Louisiana Christian University.