bearing up the balm
Upon their beating wings. The bee had learned
The place of golden sweets, the butterfly
Loved well to dream within those crimson folds,
And Eve had made a garland delicate,
Of feathery sprays and leaves and drooping bells,
And placed the Rose, the queen of bloom, above
The centre of her brow. Thus she bound up
The golden ripples that fell down and broke
O'er her white breast, hiding the bosom buds,
That never yet had yielded up their sweets
To the warm pressure of an infant's lip.
And Eve had bent above the glassy lake,
Smiling upon her picture, pressing close
The soft cheek of the Rose upon her own,
And praising God for beauty and for life.

But now a morn had come more strangely dear
Than Eden yet had known. The sleeping wind
Woke not to stir the fringes of the lake,
Nor shook the odors from the scented plant.
A silver, misty wreath closed fondly down
Above the waveless tide. The insect world
Lay waiting in the leaves, as though a spell
Had hushed Creation; yet expectant thrills
Ran through the silence, for the loaded air
Grew lighter, purer, and the recent Rose
Drooped her proud head in meekness, and the face
Of heaven flushed with burning brilliancy,
Above some coming wonder.

One by one
The beasts and birds of Paradise came down,
With noiseless movement, to the water's edge,
And waited on the margin. Creatures huge,
With honest, liquid eyes, and those that stepped
With cushioned feet and feathered footfall, stole
About the brink, with all the tribe that gave
The forest life. The serpent reared its crest,
Not yet polluted with the valley's dust,
And stood like one with royal gems encrowned;
While beast, and bird, and serpent turned to gaze
Upon each other with inquiring eyes,
And half-bewildered glance.

Then last of all
Came Eve with Adam to the circling rim,
Her fingers grasping roses, and her lip
All beautiful with Love's own witchery.
She stood and noted with admiring look
The strength of Adam's form, the expansive chest,
The sloping muscle, and the sinew knit,
The firm athletic limb, and every grace
Combined and joined in that first, perfect man.
Then Eve, grown humble in her wondrous love
Of Adam's beauty, knelt upon the turf,
While her long hair fell down in shining w