031721b

 

we celebrate

persecution of the legless

green toruses of carbs

120520

 

kung fu sidewinders

a desert scene I really

want to see

042119b

The Ophidian Priestess

Her raddled face, her ribs,

cobwebbed and brown,

loom like a leafless tree,

behind the glass.

I whisper a prayer,

before the guide moves

us to the next room,

I feel eyes upon me.

Dozing on the balcony,

I dream honeyed lisps,

urgency and thrashing coils,

the sound of scales.

Awake on a shredded cushion,

oozing punctures in my arm,

an ache in my ribs

and elsewhere.

Monday morning,

scales glitter on my pillow,

my unblinking face,

a stranger in the mirror.

End of poem

021019c

I wanna move some
where girls have the right
number of appendages
and no scales
(or not many)
and shorter fangs

111218d

Getting Along With Aliens


the Ophidia are a harmless folk,
feed each at least a whole cow a day;
too sated to move,
or raise their weapons,
some will be amenable to reason,
the rest won't bite:
just keep your distance!

111218

What Do I Win?

Ron showed the lid to the cashier at Quickie Mart.

"Win?"

“The contest!” He clicked the lid down on the counter and pushed it an inch or two towards the man.

The cashier picked it up, walked to the window, and stared at it for a long time. He put it back down in front of Ron. “It says 'all-expenses-paid worlds tour.'”

That was right, Ron knew, typo and all.

“But how do I get the world tour? Do I go to a website?”

The clerk pointed at some tiny print on the bottle cap. “You call that number.” He gave the lid back and turned away.

*

“Hello.” A pleasant contralto.

“I, um, I'm calling about,”

“The worlds tour! I'll set you up right now. When do you want to go?”

“Well, I, er, any time,” Ron finished weakly.

“Fantastic! Thank you so much for calling, and have a great trip.” She hung up.

*

That was the most surreal conversation he'd ever had, even stoned out of his mind. He turned, and was overwhelmed with the sensation of jamais vu, the unexpected feeling of unfamiliarity amid the familiar. Had the apartment been this untidy when he left this morning? He stepped over a pile of clothes and looked out the window. Holy shit! The lake was gone. No, it was covered with floating condos. But when had the condos been put in? His stomach was starting to feel a little queasy.

Someone walked out of the bathroom. He was short, paunchy, middle-aged, and wearing a towel.

“Hey...” Ron began.

“Gaah!” The man dropped his towel.

Ron stared, then stammered: “I thought forked penises went out with the snakes*.”

“Funny, Zilbo. You're still trespassing. What you doing in my zōn?” Then he slapped his forehead.

“Oh, right, 'the worlds tour.' Look, I don't need this today. Get out.” He nodded toward the door.

“But...”

“Go!”

Ron opened the door and stepped out.

From the apartment behind him he heard the fat man with the Y-shaped penis say “Oh yeah, watch that first one.”

The end

*Not making this up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes#Reproduction.

050918

glass serpents
rouse as the sun goes down
block all holes

090817

What Do I Win?

Ron showed the lid to the cashier at Quickie Mart.

"Win?"

“The contest!” He clicked the lid down on the counter and pushed it an inch or two towards the man.

The cashier picked it up, walked to the window, and stared at it for a long time. He put it back down in front of Ron. “It says 'all-expenses-paid worlds tour.'”

That was right, Ron knew, typo and all.

“But how do I get the world tour? Do I go to a website?”

The clerk pointed at some tiny print on the bottle cap. “You call that number.” He gave the lid back and turned away.

*

“Hello.” A pleasant contralto.

“I, um, I'm calling about,”

“The worlds tour! I'll set you up right now. When do you want to go?”

“Well, I, er, any time,” Ron finished weakly.

“Fantastic! Thank you so much for calling, and have a great trip.” She hung up.

*

That was the most surreal conversation he'd ever had, even stoned out of his mind. He turned, and was overwhelmed with the sensation of jamais vu, the unexpected feeling of unfamiliarity amid the familiar. Had the apartment been this untidy when he left this morning? He stepped over a pile of clothes and looked out the window. Holy shit! The lake was gone. No, it was covered with floating condos. But when had the condos been put in? His stomach was starting to feel a little queasy.

Someone walked out of the bathroom. He was short, paunchy, middle-aged, and wearing a towel.

“Hey...” Ron began.

“Gaah!” The man dropped his towel.

Ron stared at the man's forked penis, then stammered: “Are you a weresnake*.”

“Funny, Zero. You're still trespassing. What you doing in my zōn?” Then he slapped his forehead.

“Oh, right, 'the worlds tour.' Look, I don't need this today. Get out.” He nodded toward the door.

“But...”

“Go!”

Ron opened the door and stepped out.

From the apartment behind him he heard the fat man with the Y-shaped penis say “Oh yeah, watch that first one.”

Publ. Daily Cabal 2007

*Not making this up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes#Reproduction.

midwestern sojourn

the girl who had been a snake
slow blink sideways
she licked her lover's sleeping lips
he tasted of curry
of himself
of the upstairs neighbor
she softly bit his lip
got up to dress

knocking on the door
"may I come in?"
licking her lips

A snake chooses badly

What kind of God would allow this to happen?

What was a snake doing in an apple tree anyway? It is a legitimate question. Snakes don't eat fruit. Maybe the apples were hunted by mice, and the snake was after the mice. Would God allow mice to eat apples, or snakes to eat mice, in the Garden? That doesn't seem very nice to the apples or to the mice. Then again, he created an intelligent species, to which he evidently intended to deny the fruits of reproduction (you know, children, grandchildren). Even though he created a perfectly workable organ system designed for just that purpose. Perhaps Adam and Eve were meant to taste the forbidden fruit from the beginning. After all, this was the only way to get them to be fruitful and multiply. Apparently, the apple was a necessary catalyst to induce the happy couple to have sex. Then again, look how populating the earth has turned out. Not what I’d have aimed for, if I was a snake.

Part of a (live) snake

Photo by A. K. Rindsberg.

acid-free tongue

Portrait of an artist

Sidewinder Smith
blinked ophidian
nothing else moved
in the center ring
even the aerialists
paused in mid-swoop.

"Draw," he drawled.
Fingers Ablur
did just that,
as if her life depended
from the fine gold chain
(18 carat)
stretched between the
scaly showman's hands.