Snakes

Serpent, sweet-talker, smooth mover

You scaly, greasy snonym for the lemon-car salesman,

heart beating only once per month until you are

pumped alive by the Summer speed of the sun.

We’ve seen you – you poor cousin to anacondas and constrictors,

serving doctors, nurses, and Cleopatra on their staffs.

Second Chinese beast of the zodiac.

You serve, without applause, as the protector from mice, rats, and hundred-legged insects;

Eve’s turnkey to wisdom, and loose females strutting the streets.