Paradise Mislaid

We decided to turn Paradise into real estate. Trouble was, we weren’t too sure where to find it, Though experts had located it somewhere Slightly west or east (left or right, looking north) Of a point midway between the Euphrates and the Nile. According to some, it moved sideways a few inches each year. Computer systems would relieve us of Adam’s curse, Which many wanted back as soon as they had been relieved, And Eve discarded more and more items of covering, And everything (a forgivable exaggeration) In the garden (the upkeep of which had to be paid for by taxpayers) Was lovely (or at least pleasant enough for most). The Devil, who no longer existed (save as a literary metaphor) Had been extradited on a drugs smuggling charge And was last seen heading north. The Forbidden Tree had been cordoned off by Security people and no serpents were allowed near. One day we woke up to discover That Paradise had absconded in the night. The more sensational headlines read PARADISE LOST, But this was watered down in a subsequent official press statement to read PARADISE MISLAID. As to its new location, even the pundits failed to agree Whether and if so, by how much, it had moved left or right. It was even rumoured that the Devil Had bribed the Angel at the Gate and infiltrated the Intelligence Service. The Ministry of Defence reported that a large flying object Had appeared as a blob on the radar before slipping off, And some wag even suggested that this was Paradise in fact. Adam uttered “What the..” under his breath, switched off the telly – it was an old war film – And gave Eve a knowing look. Eve didn’t fancy an early night, And the ensuing row Raised Cain.