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Lauren Berman: serpentdream

December 20, 2016 by PBQ

a snake has been 
 growing along my spine 
  for a very long time, 
and it has woken up 
 under my skin. 

 I found a hole 
   at the base of my neck, 
  so I tried to pull 
 the snake out by its head. 

 As one can imagine, 
 tugging at the head of a snake is 
 a biting experience, 
with my arms reaching behind 
to pull, the tail of the snake 
 remained buried and it wiggled 
 and bit back into my flesh.  
Behind its passing, 
my skin re-sealed 
trapping the serpent. 

The snake squiggled 
to place its head into 
 a spot in my neck 
 where it could whisper 
 into my ear. 

When I didn't listen, 
 it touched all the nerves in my spine 
and then I listened very well.

Filed Under: Contributors 95, Issue 95, Poetry, Poetry 95 Tagged With: Contributors 95, Lauren Berman, Poetry, Poetry 95

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