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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ADAM THE FIRST by HEINRICH HEINE

First Line: GENDARMES OF HEAVEN WITH FLAMING SWORDS
Last Line: TO HELL AND DESOLATION.
Subject(s): ADAM & EVE; BIBLE; EDEN; HEAVEN; EVE; PARADISE;

GENDARMES of heaven with flaming swords
Thou sent'st in cruel fashion,
And drov'st me out of Paradise
Without the least compassion.

In search of another country, I
And my wife from Eden hasted;
Thou canst not alter the fact that there
The tree of knowledge I tasted.

Thou canst not alter the fact that I know
Thy weakness and many blunders,
However mighty thou seemest to be
When wielding death and thunders.

O heavens, how pitiful is this
Consilium abeundi!
I call it a Magnificus
Of earth, a Lumen Mundi.

I shall not miss the spacious realms
Of Paradise one minute
It is no genuine Paradise
When trees forbidden are in it.

I claim my full unfetter'd rights!
The slightest limitation
Changes my Paradise at once
To hell and desolation.



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