Social Commentaries

The Genesis of Embarrassment

by Ambrose Bierce 1842–c. 1914

From Shapes of Clay (1903)

Social Commentaries

When Adam first saw Eve he said:
"O lovely creature, share my bed."
Before consenting, she her gaze
Fixed on the greensward to appraise,
As well as vision could avouch,
The value of the proffered couch.
And seeing that the grass was green
And neatly clipped with a machine--
Observing that the flow'rs were rare
Varieties, and some were fair,
The posts of precious woods, besprent
With fragrant balsams, diffluent,
And all things suited to her worth,
She raised her angel eyes from earth
To his and, blushing to confess,
Murmured: "I love you, Adam--yes."
Since then her daughters, it is said,
Look always down when asked to wed.

MLA

Bierce, Ambrose. “The Genesis of Embarrassment.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/bierce/354/.

Chicago

Bierce, Ambrose. “The Genesis of Embarrassment.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/bierce/354/.

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