In Defense of Ophidia
Some species exhibit well,
the Appalachian Triumvirate
for example, rattlesnake,
cottonmouth, copperhead.
But the Amazonians are cramped
with nothing to defend,
nothing to test
the circumference of their jaws.
(Now the goat.
Now the child. At seven. At ten.)
If you’re playing at the base
of a hollowed oak,
if you’re climbing up the hayrack,
or turning thirteen and protecting
the front-porch infant,
pity Cleopatra,
but pity too
the means of execution.
No edges, these creatures,
only curls of body
so that everywhere they touch
is intimate. 