it stalks with lidless eyes,
a watchfulness not resting
a cat staring down a bird,
it’s teasing, and it’s testing

slinking around, it gawks and waits
for its prey to trip and fall
the butcher wants to eat
to munch into a skull

it often threatened me
misery, it was vouching
on its haunches, biding time,
like a spring, it’s crouching

the ophidian is eying me,
so patient to predict
the timing for its toothy bite
unceremoniously, to stick

venom dribbles on its chin
as pin-fangs toxic flow
drooling its saliva
its greediness to show

soporific as a reptile,
a specialist in skill
enjoys toying with its food
then, at last, the kill

In an incautious moment
snapping jaws fasten at will
wheeling and I’m tossing,
down towards hell

revolving, I dance with it
splutter and spin
locks itself onto my bones
with a wide mirthless grin

now it got its trophy
the thing croaked out its day
once, this thing guaranteed
with blood, I would pay

incapacitated in its grip
my hope waning dies
history parades
before my drowning eyes

paralyzing numbness
overrides my fight
to a mud bed, I’m descending
banished from the light

a memory surfaces
of a sure victory won
all looked gloomy and lost
down grinned the sun

I, then, could see clearly
the skull-scar near the creature’s brow
an earlier splitting
from a pulverizing blow

with my restoring vision
and every measure of my soul
fingernailed the damaged eye,
to tear it a new hole

my clawing chiseled into
its miry pea brain
bellowing, it released me,
I swiftly swam away

writhing in rage
while recognizing its pain
aware this time it lost me–
is on the prowl again

…

..

© –Limericist 2006/2021