Deadly snake, long and thin
You fill your fangs with vitriol
No curse, no spoken sin
Could exceed your need for survival
Emerald snake, blending in
The undergrowth that is your domain
What struck first, your bite or the boot heel unknowing?
Hurt snake, forked tongue,
With a strike as fast as wind, you
Fell the heel that threatened overhead
It was all you knew to do
Pitiful snake, lone under sun
The drought came and the herds left
Lone snake, what have you become?
Empty husk on the rocks, all dried up but your venom.