In the poem “Lamentation” written by Arta Romney Ballif, a sister to President Marion G. Romney. She imagines Eve’s experience as a wife and mother, her questions and desire to understand the Lord.
And God said, “BE FRUITFUL, AND MULTIPLY—”
Multiply, multiply—echoes multiply—
God said, ”I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY THY SORROW—”
‘ Thy sorrow, sorrow, sorrow—
I have gotten a man from the Lord
I have traded the fruit of the garden for the fruit of my body
For a laughing bundle of humanity.
And now another one who looks like Adam.
We shall call this one “Abel ” It is a lovely name, “Abel.”
Cain, Abel, the world is yours. God set the sun in the heavens to light your days
To warm the flocks, to kernel the grain He illuminated your nights with stars
He made the trees and the fruit thereof yielding seed He
made every living thing, the wheat, the sheep, the cattle For your enjoyment
. And, behold, it is very good (Page 68)
Adam? Adam, Where art thou?
Where are the boys? The sky darkens with clouds.
Adam, is that you? Where is Abel?
He is long caring for his flocks. The sky is black and the rain hammers.
Are the ewes lambing Is this storm? Why your troubled face, Adam?
Are you ill? Why so pale, so agitated?
The wind will pass The lambs will birth With Abel’s help. Dead? What is dead?
Merciful God! Hurry, bring warm water I’ll bathe his wounds
Bring clean clothes Bring herbs I’ll heal him.
I am trying to understand. You said, “Abel is dead.”
But I am skilled with herbs Remember when he was seven The fever?
Remember how— Herbs will not heal? Dead? (Page 69)
And Cain? Where is Cain? Listen to that thunder. Cain Cursed?
What has happened to him? God said, “A fugitive and a vagabond”?
But God can’t do that. They are my sons, too. I gave them birth In the valley of pain
Adam, try to understand In the valley of pain I bore them fugitive? vagabond?
This is home This soil he loved Where he toiled for golden wheat For tasseled corn.
To the hill country? There are rocks in the hill country Cain can’t work in the hill country
The nights are cold Cold and lonely, and the wind gales
. Quick, we must find him A basket of bread and his coat
I worry, thinking of him wandering With no place to lay his head.
Cain cursed? A wanderer. A roamer? Who will bake his bread and mend his coat? (Page 70)
Abel, my son. Dead? And Cain, my son, a fugitive?
Two sons Adam, we had two sons Both—Oh, Adam— multiply sorrow Dear God, Why?
Tell me again about the fruit Why? Please tell me again Why?[i]
As I read the poem, I could feel her panic, confusion, urgency to help her boys, and her pain when she realized that she could not help them and that they were lost to her. I can understand how she must have felt as I too am a wife and am a mother of a son. My heart would break if he was lost to me and there was nothing, I could do to save him. I came close to loosing my son when he was very small but thanks to my faith and a miracle from od my son was able to recover with some medical help.
The thoughts that come to my mind is that despite the heartache and great loss Adam and Eve suffered they loved each other and their God and did not lose their faith. They trusted the Lord and the Plan of Salvation and lived the rest of their lives in faith. Our Marriages our similar to the experiences of Adam and Eve in that we go through all sorts trials and have to make all sorts of sacrifices but if our love is strong for each other and God and if we keep our faith, trusting in the Plan of Salvation we will have happy marriages that can face anything.
[i] “Lamentation” Arta Romney Ballif, a sister to President Marion G. Romney.
Happy Eternal Marriage and Family 