The Snake

I aroused at night,
Horrified and anguished
Like one who'd seen a ghost
I was hushed back to sleep
By the rhythmical pleasure
Of the soothing droplets
On the corrugated sheets
A dampness between my legs
In the wee hours of dawn
Jostled me from the ecstasy
Of the nightlong fantasy
There was a funny stiffness
Dangling in my groin

"Wake up—today's school"
I stirred and woke up
To set my eyes upon
The frame of my mother
Shaking my sack of bones
"Is it morning already?"
I lamented half asleep
Clinging onto my sheets,
The mystery underneath
Shouldn't see the eye of dawn
I thought to yourself—
They're my last line of defense

Suddenly, there's a hissing,
An already familiar dampness
Creeps up my feet,
And nestles in my groin
I smile to the knowledge
Of my indiscriminate act
Mother's already left
She's halfway across the yard
When my howl catches her ear
She runs back to me in time
To catch the glimpse of a snake
Cycled around my waist