This is a rendering of Genesis 2.4-25 in Haiku form with the 5-7-5 structure. It is not intended to be a translation, but a wrestling with the task of maintaining the meaning of the text while adhering to the strict poetic structure of haiku. This rendition has many explicit interpretive decisions, which I believe are faithful to to original intent of the biblical text.

This is the record

Of the heavens and the earth

At their creation

In the day when God

Formed the earth and the heavens

The earth was barren

No shrub had sprung up

Nor had any plant sprouted

For the skies were closed

God had not brought rain

Upon the ground. Nor was there

The human on ground

Instead there were mists

That welled up from down below

To water the land

God formed the earthling

From earth taken from the ground

Human from humus

Lifeless the earthling

Until with God’s breath in nostrils

He awoke to life

Eden, in the east,

Where God planted a garden,

Was where he placed man

God made it flourish

With trees from the soil pleasing

To both eye and tongue

The garden’s center

Held two trees. One giving life

One knowledge quite rare

The knowledge it gave

Knowledge of good and evil

To its fruit’s eater

A river flows from 

Eden into the garden

To water the plants

Inside the garden

The river split and became

Four large headwaters

The first – the Pishon

Flowed through all of Havilah

A land filled with gold

The gold of the land

Purest ever, along with

Lapis lazuli

The second – Gihon

Running through the complete land

Called by all as Cush

The third – the Tigris

Running eastward of Asshur

The fourth – Euphrates

God took the human

And placed him in the garden

To tend it and care

God told the human,

“Freely eat from every tree

Here in this garden

“Save from the one tree

Of knowledge good and evil

You never must eat

“For if you eat from

It’s fruit, on that very day,

Dying you will die.”

God looked and he said,

“It’s surely not good that the

Human is alone

I’ll make now for him

A companion suited

To help in this task.”

God formed from the ground

Beasts of the field; flying birds

Took them to the man

The human then named

All the beasts and the birds but

He still was alone

God caused him to sleep

Took from him part of his side

He closed up the man

From the taken part

God shaped a woman and then

Brought her to the man

“This one’s just like me,”

Said the man, “Bone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh.

Since she was taken

And formed from part of the man

Her name is woman.”

This is why a man

Leaves his father and mother,

Unites with his wife

And two, that were made

When the man was divided,

In truth become one

The man and his wife

Worked in the garden of God

Naked with no shame