Paradise Recalled

There are no apples
on the trees
in the garden
today.

Adam has had them removed,
concerned at the effect
they were having
on his wife.

Analysis by orchard scientists
has revealed traces of cyanide
but a local rumour
talks of serpent venom.

Anyone who has picked apples
from the trees
in the garden
of late

is advised to return them,
no questions asked.

Published in There’s a Poem in My Soup, 2007
(Koo Press)