Published in Overland Issue 232 Spring 2018 · Teaser Eden en effet Thom Sullivan we need new myths, eh remember the twee fen we deserted where shepherds tended sheep the ewes’ whey fleeces three effete nephews jewel-bedecked fetched vessels they presented sweets dyed hens’ eggs green cheeses there by the very elm where feeble eve ended perfect eden her esse est esse next, the ethylene stench yes expected deep fermented then she, he expelled ejected hence the weedy mess sere deserts her elegy remedy-less her heedless regret when she erred there ended the esteemed sheer sweetness then entered vexed sex beget, beget wretchedness the elements rebelled tempests then drynesses then tempests the wreck the lees the effects engendered we need new eyes new selves dresses resewed tendernesses re-wedded the bedsheets fresh the scene re-rendered Read the rest of Overland 232 If you enjoyed this poem, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four outstanding issues for a year Thom Sullivan Thom Sullivan grew up on a farm in Wistow/Bugle Ranges in the Adelaide Hills. His poems have appeared in Best Australian Poems, Australian Love Poems and as part of ABR’s ‘States of Poetry’ anthology. He was the winner of the 2017–18 Noel Rowe Poetry Award. More by Thom Sullivan › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays