What The Apple Said
I must say, I was really getting tired, Eve,
of just hanging around
on a tree that everyone—all
two of you—knew
no one should touch. Tired
of watching that sneak of a serpent
coil around this lonely, dark
trunk on which God
had nailed a NO TRESPASSING sign.
Eve, I thrilled
from my core through my flesh
to my loosening stem
when I saw you coming, saw you step up
and look at me
with those questioning, hungry
eyes. Hope filled me then, Eve,
hope that was beginning
to feel like nothing but a dream
until you reached out
and tasted. Your taste as you bit (oh, how
I had longed for it!) was like the keeping
of a promise, promise
only God and a serpent knew
how to speak. When Adam
walked by, I was glad
you held me out for the tasting. Glad
he took a bite. Glad
I knew
his taste as it mingled with yours
in my sinless, wounded mouth.
My persona poem “What the Apple Said” was begun in the first session of Pauletta Hansel’s Fall 2025 “From Draft to Craft” Class in response to this in-class assignment:
Writing Prompt: Poems from Poems
For tonight’s prompt, use one or more of the poems from our read-around to make a new poem.
Lots of possibilities: [one of which was] “If there is a question in the poem, answer it.”
I usually find it difficult to write very many lines of a new poem under an in-class time constraint. But my classmate Mike Olson’s poem “What Eve Said”—read earlier in the class—had lit a fire in my belly, especially his lines/question,
but how should the apple
know of me
and I apple
unless we taste of one another
Taking on the persona of the famous Garden of Eden apple, I quickly wrote four of the six stanzas of “What the Apple Said” in less than twenty minutes. Writing from the perspective of the apple freed me—quieted my brain and sparked my intuition—allowing a newfound, playful voice to speak new lines almost effortlessly from imagination. This inspiration continued early the next morning when I added the final two stanzas and revised the entire poem only slightly. Thank you, Pauletta, for this in-class reading and prompt, and thank you, Mike, for sharing your amazing poem. I no longer groan at the mention of an in-class writing assignment!
What Inspires You
local (Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati)
mentors: Pauletta Hansel, Sherry Cook Stanforth, Richard Hague
workshops: From Draft to Craft, Writer’s Table, Community of Creative Writer’s River Retreat
independent bookstores: Roebling Books and Coffee
creeks: Fowlers Fork, South Fork Gunpowder Creek
regional (Kentucky and nearby states)
Accents Publishing (Katerina Stoykova, Senior Editor)
Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative
organizations
The Academy of American Poets (Poets.org)
contemporary poets
Kunitz, Stafford, Carruth, Gilbert, Bly, James Wright, Berry, Oliver, Jeff Daniel Marion, Richard Hague, Jane Hirschfield, Diane Suess, Pauletta Hansel, Ada Limón and so many more…
books on poetry
The Art of Finding (short essay), Linda Gregg
Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry, Jane Hirshfield
The Art of Voice, Tony Hoagland
The Poet’s Guide to Publishing, Katerina Stoykova
A Primer for Poets & Readers of Poetry, Gregory Orr
Structure & Surprise: Engaging Poetic Turns, Michael Theune, ed.
The Flexible Lyric, Ellen Bryant Voigt
anthologies
Earth Took of Earth, Jorie Graham, ed.
The Classic Hundred Poems, William Harmon, ed.
poetry reference books
The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols, Chevalier and Gheerbrant, eds.
The Poetry Dictionary, John Drury
A Poet’s Glossary, Edward Hirsch
A Handbook to Literature, William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman
Bio
As described on his Facebook page, Chuck Stringer strives to be a loving “partner, parent, grandparent, creek keeper, poet, and friend.” He resides with wife Susan and gray tabby Kissa in a Northern Kentucky home near Fowlers Fork, a creek he walks almost daily. He has poems appearing in numerous journals, and his chapbook, By Fowlers Fork, was published by Finishing Line Press in August 2024. He recently enjoyed being interviewed by Katerina Stoykova on the Accents Publishing Blog (https://www.accents-publishing.com/blog/2025/10/23/accents-podcast-interview-with-chuck-stringer/
Find the Spring 2026 Issue HERE
Previous NPM 2026 poets
| April 1 | Amy Forstadt |
| April 2 | Annette Sisson |
| April 3 | Beth Kanell |
| April 4 | Bonnie Proudfoot |
| April 5 | Charles Stringer |