The Leopard After Eden by Charlotte Cooper

 

The Leopard, after Eden closed, seemed changed, somehow;
Eve caught her breath.
“Did you see the cat?” she asked
and felt a cold, metallic fear.
“She licks her paws and cannot stop.
They’re stained, you know, with something dark.
She’s off her feed,
And when she walks, she moves as if she means to startle something-
something there that breathes-and bleeds.”
Eve held her elbows in her hands, stepped back inside the door.

The Lord God, walking in Eden at the end of the day,
had no man, or woman-or cat- to walk with him.

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Charlotte Cooper is an artist who has teaches and shows in Northern California, primarily in encaustic medium.  She has two permanent metal installations in the Sacramento area.

Photo credit of encaustic art: Charlotte Cooper

Audio: Susan C. Ingram