The Complete Old English Poems

by Craig Williamson

  To discover your needs, fulfill your dreams,

  Offer you anything your heart desires.

  Not long ago I sat by his side, basking in bliss. 550

  He made clear my mission to minister to you

  And teach you the truth of this divine tree.

  He commands you to taste this fair fruit

  That he knows you crave. Its gifts are legion:

  Your strength will surge, your mind magnify, 555

  Your spirit exult, your body grow beautiful.

  You will taste the truth and discover the wonders

  Revealed to you. You will want no wealth

  When you have gained the grace and glory

  This fruit contains. You have worked God’s will, 560

  Accomplished his ends. You are perfect and precious

  To your loving Lord. I have heard him speak

  Of your way of life, proudly praising

  Your words and works. Now he wants you to hear

  His messenger’s commands and carry them out 565

  In this lovely country. This earth is endless,

  Vital and green under God’s heaven.

  The Lord himself hesitates to travel

  Such a long, hard road down from heaven,

  So he sent me here as his faithful servant 570

  To speak with you now about his mission,

  Teaching you the truth of this enabling tree

  By my wise words and cunning thought.

  Carry out his command. Take this fruit!

  Bite it! Taste it! Your mind will expand, 575

  Your heart enlarge, your form grow fair.

  This is God’s gift from his home in heaven.”

  Adam answered the serpent where he stood,

  Exercising faithfully his own free will,

  Alive to the effect of his making a choice: 580

  “When I listened to the solemn voice of the Lord,

  He gave me this land with commandments to keep

  And offered me Eve as my beauty-bright wife.

  He warned me not to be betrayed or bedeviled,

  Risking ruin for this dangerous fruit, 585

  Saying that whoever chooses evil in his heart

  Will inhabit hell, a dark house of pain.

  It’s difficult to know what your purpose is.

  Are you an angelic messenger from heaven

  Or some devious liar with a hellish plan? 590

  Your so-called mission doesn’t make much sense.

  Your tongue is twisted, your words are bewildering.

  I remember what our Lord and Savior said

  When I saw him last: he ordered me plainly

  To honor his word and keep his commands. 595

  You don’t look much like an angel from heaven,

  Nor do you offer any token of God’s favor,

  So I’m sorry to say I can’t swallow your scheme.

  You should go away. I trust the power and truth

  Of the Master who made me with his own hands, 600

  Created me from clay, who raised up this woman

  Out of my rib. He is able to bestow his favors

  From highest heaven without sending a subordinate.”

  Then the angry demon turned to Eve,

  Beautifully formed, threatening harm to her 605

  And all the children of earth to come,

  Saying, “I know that God will be enraged

  With both of you for being so stubborn,

  When I fly home to heaven on the long road

  And tell him you’ve rejected the righteous command 610

  That he offered from the east. He will rise up in rage,

  Forced to follow his own messenger here

  Into Eden. I can’t predict what God will do,

  But I know he will become a menace to you

  Unless you accept this offer, a willing woman, 615

  Obey these words and reach for a remedy,

  Following his command without hesitation,

  Escaping the pain of his punishing wrath.

  If you listen to me, I’ll show you the way.

  Eat this fruit, taste its sweetness, 620

  Savor its power to open your eyes,

  So that you can see beyond yourself,

  Beyond this world to the throne of God

  And curry favor with your own Creator.

  You will also be able to lord it over Adam, 625

  Control his desire, determine his will,

  If that’s what you want and he trusts your words.

  Just tell your husband you have in your heart

  Fulfilled God’s purpose. He’ll believe in you

  And give up his stubborn opposition and strife. 630

  We can counsel him together, coax him carefully

  To renounce his resistance, lest you should both

  Prove loathsome to your Lord. Lean to the law,

  O brightest and best of women—listen to me.

  If you perform God’s purpose, I will come to your aid 635

  In concealing Adam’s insults, his rebellious replies,

  His arrogant, wounding words to God’s servant.

  He thinks me malicious, calls me a liar,

  Believes I have some secret, malevolent scheme,

  And says unashamedly that I am no angel. 640

  But I have served a long life in heaven

  With my angelic thanes, loyal to the Lord.

  I know them well. I’m not just some devil.”

  So the enemy of God urged Eve on,

  The deceitful serpent, coaxing her toward evil 645

  With his tempting lies until his devious words

  Grew hot in her heart, surging up in her mind.

  She began to surrender. Her will was weaker,

  Her nature more yielding, her promises more pliant

  Under God’s shaping plan, so she was swept along 650

  By the devil’s desires, his pernicious plot.

  She took from the fiend the fatal fruit

  From the tree of death against God’s word.

  No worse deed was ever conceived.

  It’s a great wonder that eternal God, 655

  The Prince of peace, would endure such enmity,

  And suffer his servants to be led astray

  By that subtle demon who seduced Eve,

  Marking mankind for endless suffering.

  Then Eve ate the fruit, swallowing sin, 660

  Tasting death, against the will

  And word of the Lord. Through the gift

  Of that fiend, God’s foe, who beguiled her

  With winsome words, betrayed her with lies,

  Eve’s eyes were empowered. She seemed to see 665

  The brightness and beauty of heaven and earth,

  The power and glory of God’s creation,

  Not through her own human eyes and mind,

  But through the demon’s grafted gaze

  And his blazing vision, a devious dream. 670

  Then the fiend we have forsworn spoke—

  His counsel was cunning, his word-gift no good:

  “Darling Eve, now that you’ve drunk this nectar,

  Tasting the fruit, trusting my words,

  You can see for yourself that your form is fairer, 675

  Your beauty brighter, your goodness more gracious.

  Now the light before and within you

  Beams from your body, blazes from your eyes.

  The world rejoices in your waking radiance.

  Use this for a purpose—tell Adam your tale. 680

  Explain how you acquired such subtle vision

  After hearing and heeding my wise counsel.

  Offer him this promise: if he yearns for the light

  That he sees in your eyes and will obey me now,

  Then I will hold him blameless for his blasphemies, 685

  Even though he deserves no redeeming pardon

  For h
is hateful words. I will also offer him

  A small portion of what I gave to you,

  The gift of God’s vision, the eyes of light.”

  So now the children of Eve know sin 690

  When they fall as all of mankind must,

  Though they may find through their suffering

  And amending their ways their Maker’s mercy

  And be restored to their Lord again.

  So Eve came to Adam, carrying dark fruit 695

  And the demon’s words—breathtaking, beautiful—

  The fairest woman in this new world,

  Because she was shaped by the hand of God,

  Even though she was seduced and snared

  By the devil’s deceit into a web of sin. 700

  So both were unblessed, losing God’s favor,

  Forfeiting heaven for many seasons.

  We mourn this loss. Woe to the one

  Who doesn’t hear or heed this lesson,

  Who still has a chance to make a choice. 705

  Eve carried a sumptuous secret in her hands

  And a tempting truth hidden in her heart—

  The delicious fruit of the tree of death,

  Which God had forbidden his children to eat.

  That unblessed apple was the source and sign 710

  Of more sin to come. God set the terms:

  His servants did not have to suffer death—

  They could rise to the richness of heaven’s hold

  If they refused the bait of that bitter fruit.

  God’s enemy seduced Adam and Eve 715

  And all of mankind. The woman’s mind

  Was more malleable to him, her heart

  More hospitable to his concealed cunning.

  She was led to believe that the deceitful devil

  Was a divine messenger sent from God. 720

  His tongue seemed truthful, his words wise,

  His sign spectacular. She sidled up

  To her lord and master, saying to Adam:

  “Adam, my lord, this fruit is so sweet—

  It’s a taste of bliss and a pleasure to eat. 725

  It will warm your heart and open your eyes

  To the world’s brightness. God’s beautiful angel

  Is everything he claims. By his radiant robes

  I can see that he’s our Maker’s messenger,

  Keeping his counsel, bearing us delicious, 730

  Invisible truths from the King of heaven.

  He’s better a friend than an adamant foe.

  If you have spoken to him harshly today,

  He will forgive you for your heart’s bitter hatred,

  If we promise to serve him and work his will. 735

  What will we gain by quarreling with an angel?

  It bedevils our chances for peace in paradise.

  He can plead our case with almighty God.

  With my unveiled eyes, I can see the Lord

  Who shaped this world, surrounded by splendor, 740

  Gathered in glory in the south-east of heaven,

  Encircled by angels in feathered cloaks.

  Who could offer such an insightful vision,

  If not God? Who could offer such harmonies

  To my human hearing? The Shaper’s songs 745

  And the angels’ wings are expanding my sight.

  This is no scheme. My mind is a miracle—

  Since I ate the apple, my eyes are enlightened.

  Here, take this fruit I hold in my hands.

  I offer it openly. Share my vision. 750

  Taste this greatness. I believe it’s brought

  From the hand of God by his own command

  Through this mighty messenger. His words are wise.

  He tells nothing but the truth. Take a bite!

  Nothing else on earth is equal to this. 755

  As the angel says, it’s a gift from God.”

  Eve incessantly urged Adam all day long

  With words thick and fast to taste the fruit.

  This lure was aimed at expanding love

  Or sharing blame. That bite would turn bitter 760

  As they betrayed their Lord. The evil angel

  Encouraged them both to seize the moment

  And sate their desires with a taste of sweetness,

  The drink of death. To ease his envy,

  He meant to draw mankind into mortal error, 765

  To lead both Adam and Eve astray,

  Snared in sin and bound for slaughter.

  That twisted trickster, that hideous hell-hound,

  Knew that they would discover God’s wrath

  And destroy their deed to a home in heaven. 770

  That fiend offered Eve his subtle lies,

  Bending her back to his own way of being.

  He delighted in deceiving the loveliest of women

  Into forfeiting God’s favor. Seduced to sin,

  She sold her will and spoke his words, 775

  Betraying her heart and God’s handiwork.

  His beautiful bride urged Adam on

  To share the fruit, till his spirit softened,

  And trusting her undaunted loyalty and love,

  He took the fruit. He ate the apple 780

  And lost himself. She little knew

  That mankind would suffer sin endlessly

  After taking a taste of that bitter fruit.

  She thought she would gain God’s favor

  In obeying his messenger’s winsome words. 785

  She talked her way into Adam’s trust,

  Until her husband followed his heart

  And wound his will to her own desires.

  His act was an invitation out of Eden.

  What he took from Eve was death and damnation, 790

  A savage sleep and a demon-dream,

  The devil’s deceit and a home in hell,

  Though in name and nature, it seemed just fruit.

  That apple was endless agony and exile,

  Suffering on earth and torment in hell. 795

  With a shared bite of that unholy fruit,

  They marked themselves and all mankind

  With bitter death. They murdered the future.

  The cruel messenger cavorted around them,

  Skipping in sin, exulting in evil, 800

  Offering thanks to his lord, Satan, saying:

  “Now I have fully worked your will,

  Fulfilling your desire since the day we fell.

  At last I’ve led Adam and Eve astray.

  They’ve broken their bond, forsaken their Lord, 805

  Abandoned his word, his trust and teaching,

  Trading bliss for bale, rejoicing for wrath.

  Now they will find a hard path to heaven

  And a broad road to hell. Your envy is ended,

  Your heart’s pain has perished. Ignominy is over. 810

  You don’t have to grieve that your given place

  In heaven is handed over to usurping mankind,

  While you lie locked in hell’s hot torment

  With a host of fiends who followed you down,

  Enthralled with your pride. God flew into a rage 815

  When we refused to bow down before him

  And beg for his blessing. But it was not our want

  To render him homage. We counted the cost

  And found it too great. Better freedom in hell

  Than servitude in heaven. God drove us down 820

  In his unchecked anger, his fiendish fury,

  Hurling bold angels into the fiery abyss,

  The blaze and burn of mind and bone,

  So he could restore the thrones of heaven,

  Handing our place to that muddle of mankind. 825

  We’ve marred his grace and emptied his thrones

  By misleading man. It’s a devil’s delight!

  We’ve caused God double trouble—

  The children of men have lost their h
ope

  Of heaven, sinners bound for hell-fire, 830

  Bypassing bliss—and we’ve perverted God’s purpose,

  Making the Lord lament his precious loss.

  Our Maker will mourn that he ever made man.

  Whatever we suffer is salved in Adam,

  Eased with Eve, as they will know pain, 835

  Passion, and perdition instead of paradise.

  The damnation of man has healed our hearts

  Since we have taken vengeance with victory

  In our endless conflict with our cruel Creator.

  We’ve endured enough. Now I’m headed home 840

  To greet you, my lord, the great Satan,

  Shackled in black hell in a clutch of fire.”

  The meanest of messengers, that fierce fiend,

  Once more flew down to the doors of hell

  To be greeted by flames where his master lay, 845

  Chafing at his bonds, chained to the blaze.

  Then Adam and Eve began grieving.

  They sorrowed and spoke sharp words of woe,

  Discovering the fear that came with the fruit,

  The darkness of mind that death portended. 850

  They dreaded the righteous wrath of God,

  Realizing that they had defied his command.

  The woman wailed, lamenting her loss,

  Reproaching herself, repenting her choice,

  When she saw the radiance dim and disappear, 855

  The once bright sign from the false angel,

  The faithless demon who led them on

  With his devious counsel into dark calamity,

  Sin and shame, humiliation and hell.

  Sorrow smoked and seethed in their hearts. 860

  Sometimes the married pair prayed together,

  Calling on their Creator to punish them properly

  For breaking his command. Suddenly they saw

  The blunt truth that their bodies were bare.

  They needed no house and knew no toil 865

  In that precious land. They could have lived well,

  If only they had learned to obey God’s command.

  Bound for misery, they heaped blame

  On one another. Adam spoke up:

  “O Eve, you have by your egregious sin 870

  Marked us forever bound for death.

  Can you see our destiny, the dark abyss,

  The fierce flames of ruinous hell?

  Can you hear it raging? Heaven’s kingdom

  Is unlike that unholy fire. Here is the best land 875

  We might have held, rejoicing forever

  In this radiant land, God’s gift to us,

  If you had not listened to that inveterate liar

  Who tempted us to turn against our Lord,

  Following that monster instead of our Master. 880

  Now we sorrow in sin and fear our fate

  Because God warned us to guard religiously