This is the story of Moses,
The earliest scribe that we keep:
Void was the earth and formless,
And dark was the face of the deep,
Till God's word flashed in lightning,
Beautiful, bountiful, bright,
And night was the name of the darkness,
And day was the name of the light.
This is the story of Moses--
(Doubt it, if ever you can)--
The world was too good to begin with,
So God made Adam, the man;
And for Adam He made the woman,
And He gave them laws to obey;
And, lastly, He sent the serpent
To follow and tempt and betray.
This is the story of Moses--
Eve got a man from the Lord,
And his name was Cain, and another
Called Abel, the evil-starred;
And the brothers quarreled at their worship,
And Abel, the meek, was slain,
And Death shook hands with the slayer,
His first and best friend, Cain.
This is the story of Moses
Of how our people began,
Of the broken law and the bloodshed--
First fruits of the God-sent man;
This is the story of Moses,
The earliest scribe who writ,
And all the scribes who are writing
Don't vary the tale a whit.