Mark 1:13

and he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and among the wild beasts, while the angels helped him.


imagine Eden revisited
within a declared good
a mini-wilderness grew

 
our friend Satan rose
from energized ground
to climb a fruitful tree

a wilderness whisper
of no consequences
piggy-backed a ripe scent

subtle satan smiled
an elderly couple drew near
promises turned to contracts

traveling to Eden
takes but a moment
forgetting angels and animals

our naming and caring
are set aside
anticipating a wild ride

yet one flaming angel
and a host of same
rally to a tree of life

we sleepwalk through
a poisoned apple stupor
one consequence to a next

one bereft tree

left standing

renamed stump
cross and center
cedar and health

we walk in wildernesses
personal and communal
aching to remember

has it been 40 days already
or only 40 years or hours
we walk again between animals

an old promise
flames back to life
you are ever loved

in wilderness and out
we rejoin satans and angels
and claim a new name


C.S. Mann has the temptation as a first engagement in an eschatological conflict.

Immediately there is a mention of animals and angels which gives a sense of how that conflict will ultimately turn out. The animals become precursors to a new creation, two by two they lead to Paradise Regained after being Lost. Angelic messengers are ready to invite, “Come! Receive life-giving water!” flowing through an unguarded tree of life.