play Snake

I live in the cracks
the spaces in between
since the dawn of time
I have warmed my blood
sharing the heat the stones retained
cooled myself in moist crevices
secreted in the fissures created
when the earth settles
and your abodes do not conform

Down here the world is silent and sensuous
I taste the changes in the air
the earth tells me what’s afoot
I bathe in vibrations and scents
and eat only what I kill

I embrace the dark and light
nurture my venom with the secrets of both
strike like lightning then withdraw
I haunt your myths and dreams
my individualism awes you
I am to blame for seducing you to knowledge
I wrap your healers staff
my juices cure and kill

but I am a simple being
seeking to master nothing but my own survival
I find those secret folds in the womb of the planet
match my heartbeat to the pounding tides
and hammering pile drivers
tune myself to the earth’s enduring

and when it is time to grow
I leave myself behind
Watch me
as I shed my skin