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