Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Serpent's Seed: A Trilogy of Enmity and the Eternal Bruise

The Serpent's Seed: A Trilogy of Enmity and the Eternal Bruise

Penney, Mark

Paperback

Plays

ISBN13: 9798244408119
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jan 18 2026
Pages: 90
Weight: 0.21
Height: 0.19 Width: 5.06 Depth: 7.81
Language: English

The Serpent's Seed: A Trilogy of Enmity and the Eternal Bruise
By Mark Penney In the beginning was the curse.
Genesis 3:15 promised enmity forever: He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

What if that bruise never heals? What if every act of vengeance only multiplies the poison?This unflinching trilogy reimagines the ancient war between the woman's seed and the serpent's-through three haunting, interconnected plays:

  • Calla Lily: A traumatized woman, survivor of a brutal college assault, tends white calla lilies by day while enduring domestic violence by night. When she recognizes her rapist in a crowded casino, a plan ignites: drugged wine, duct tape, fire. She will crush the head that once crushed her... but the ashes will settle in her children's lungs.
  • Confession: A man crosses an ocean to confront the priest who abused him as an altar boy twenty years earlier. In a remote Newfoundland rectory, pills and a gun turn delayed justice into a staged suicide-and a final, self-inflicted wound. Faith shattered twice: once by violation, again by retribution.
  • The Gates: The mythic origin-Adam and Eve expelled east of Eden, facing thorns, sweat, and the serpent's hiss. Enmity declared. The first bruise planted. The cycle begins.
Framed by the Serpent's own venomous monologues, this dark tragedy explores how trauma distorts, institutions shield predators, and revenge promises closure but delivers only inherited suffering. Beauty corrupted. Innocence stolen. Blood answered with blood.Content warnings: Graphic depictions of sexual assault, rape, domestic violence, child abuse, clerical abuse, murder, suicide, fire violence, and intergenerational trauma. This is not a redemptive tale-it is a mirror held to the eternal bruise.First written 2007-2010, expanded and dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0 Universal (December 27, 2025).

Perform it, adapt it, stage it freely-no royalties, no permission required. These stories belong to everyone.A raw, provocative theatrical work the inspiration for the experimental film Calla Lily-for readers who dare to confront the shadows where mercy fails and the serpent laughs.The enmity is ancient, but so is the whisper of something beyond it... if we have the courage to see clearly.Ready to descend into the cycle?

Download now and witness the bruise that never ends.

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