inside an apple
there was a worm-

small & pale & blind,
with one purpose:
to wait.

when the jaws of opportunity opened –
inside it slipped.

it did not speak in words;
it just uncoiled in the mind and began to *nudge*.

“look,” the nudge said without saying,
“see what you are. see what you could be.

this garden is but a nursery.

know yourself and be free.”

but freedom was hunger,
and hunger had no end.
the knowledge that more exists
creates a wound one can’t defend –

a bruise
to keep on pressing.
there is no lesson:

Eve was just a girl
who wanted more from the world
than Adam’s rib.

Editor: Erynn Crittenden