Apr/May 2021  •   Poetry  •   Special Feature

The Concept of Hell

by Jayant Kashyap

Artwork by Art AI Gallery

Artwork by Art AI Gallery


The Concept of Hell

A Golden Shovel after Genesis 3:5

The serpent said hey, it's fine and so, Eve ate it for
what it was and was punished, as if god

had been waiting, as if the snake wasn't made in his image too. He said He knows
good from evil—if there was good or evil—that
there was. So, she was punished when,

once, she desired. God said, "Why would you
want to anyway? It's not the last fruit in town. If you were to eat—

and not from
this one—I've left you a whole world to touch." Perhaps it

was—Perhaps the last one she could find. And god held her in contempt: "Your
manners are too wild." He looked her in the eyes

and said nothing else but perhaps he wanted to; instead: "You will
not be here anymore (take Adam with you). You are to be
leaving, and the gates have been opened."