a Lilith story

disclaimer: this blog post contains Naked Boobies. if you are offended by such things, you probably shouldn't use the internet. Ever.

oh and also pubes.





why it wont align left. Anyway, Lilith. This is one of my favorite bits from the Bible cuz i altered it to fit my perceptions & needs at the time. This one came together as I was leaving the relationship with my child's father & sorting through that particularly, and male/female leavings in general.  We left when she was seven months old & she'll be ten this year so i think i'm making good progress in organizing my thoughts cohesively for sharing in timely fashion.

 All is progress.

more edits to follow.

IN THE BEGINNING (all the best stories begin this way)

GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

(Genesis 1:27)And God created Man and Woman; From the dust of the earth God created them, In God's own image.

Both were formed of the dust of the Earth; that part about the rib didn't happen til Genesis 2:21, which leaves room for this giant adventure.

The man was tall, lean, muscular and hairy; far-sighted, strong hands to hunt and to grapple and to build, to hold tightly or push away.

The woman was likewise tall, but curved like a river stone, with sharp eyes to see what was before her, and nimble hands to winnow the good from the bad, and untiring arms to gather and to weave, to hold close and to let go.

Tree of Life

Tree of Knowledge

Lilith said I shall find A Water Bowl to bring water home to drink and to wash with. This was before clay was known & fired into pottery so her bowl was a smooth hollow stone and she sat at stream's edge pouring water over her hands and remembering the old old story of Teshuda, the great turtle, and Teshora, who danced on her back and lit fires and made mischief.
The man said i don't need to wash, i'm a filthy bastard.
So she poured the water out on the ground in front of him, as her womb poured out its unwanted blood. *

and Lilith said I shall weave a food Basket to gather fruit and herbs and veggies and rice & Good Things. And as she wove the withes they took again the shape of a turtles shell, the shell of Archelon who carries the world upon his back. The man said "a Man eats meat! and fried potatoes & white bread & sugary preprocessed crap" So he did & the stench of his farts and the flies rising from his shits blotted out the sun.
And Lilith felt sick to her stomach and threw away the things she had gathered, and in the death-cry of the hunted beasts she heard her own childbirth cry, and knew how difficult it would be to make Life.

and Lilith said "I will gather Home Stones for a hearth and a House strong enough to keep out wild Beasts, for you have eaten their food & they are hungry. It may be they will try to eat our Children"
The man said "we'll just use branches & stinking untanned hides that will rot and fall down in the rain. It'll be fine"
And she turned away, knowing the vast distance there could be between a house and a Home, between a man and a woman, between one and another.

Lilith left, taking long brave strides across that great burning desert. As she reached the far side she looked back and let the sands of that life slip through her fingers. Tendrils of roses uncurled wherever the blood oozed from her cracked feet.  (just like in the painting!)
And the man grew lame from hunting wild beasts, and careworn from taming them, and tired out from trudging after his plow to grow grain to feed them. His new wife, being only a small part of him, could only reflect his light as the moon reflects the sunlight.

Lilith Lives in the woods, in her own Home, by her own Hands and Wit and Wisdom, and she lives truly & she lives well.

Lilith Died and her grave grew over with all the green things that struggle upward from the dust of the Earth, but before she departed completely, her mossy green skull rolled over and spoke once more: "Unless you have traveled my way, unless you know my hardships, unless you learn my ways you will surely die"

and that, dear ones, is both a Blessing and a Curse.

Lilith Reclaimed
* the biblical equivalent is God's speech to Eve about pain in childbirth, desire for a husband etc. I've put all the curses in there, if you'll look closely.

re: the painting...she's rather an odd color, or variety of colors. This speaks to the belief that all humans, of all colors and features, according to Genesis, have a common ancestor. Or two, as it were. She's also a bit trogodyte-ish in the forehead area, based on my belief that Adam and Eve, for practical purposes, could have been the first humanoids with conscience. No literal fundamental evangelical xtianity here: )

For me, the day that we left has become Lilith Day. I celebrate it as such, and am thankful for my strong broad feet that have carried me so far.