One
Eratigena
drinking. Undeterred
by my overhead
loom.
Two
palps
revealed, the need for touch
universal.
Three
drops
fallen, always the body in distance from
another.
Four
hours
later, I return. The tremors’ of thirst
continue.
Five
minutes
pass, I’m glorious as goliath. I watch his trim hair
pulse.
Six
legs
arch in shadow. How long had he gone without
water?
Infinite
will
: to survive greater than the fear of death’s
blow.
Make real
I realize how long it took me
to realize.
I realize how long it took me
to realize.
I realize how long it took me
to realize.
Snap of the rattlesnake’s jaws
on the mountain
that lunged after our dog who snapped
back. Both wide-eyed. The snake
by design, the dog in reaction. You
were determined to climb
despite the heat. Despite reluctance. We forgot
the water in the car.
Breech of flesh, one,
than the other. The dog pants back to us.
Feels venom tingle through her body,
the sudden plaintive call at the start
of misery. The snake retreats, safe,
under warm roots of pine. Savors
taste of dog before her long muscle relaxes.
I realize how long
it took me to realize. The soft swish of ize.
The mouth opens, doubly, in stalled
horror. Click of tongue as I call the dog.
The pressure to get things right
in the face of death. The dog never made it
in the end. The snake shed skin
no longer serving purpose.
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