SERPENTS

(NEW POEM)

by which she means men. a man:
christ’s cobra, dusky-bellied with
drink and thin inclination. a man:
jealously bending his body; his
neck spread into a hood, the wide-
winged collar of his shirt turned
up and out. a man: chewing his
cheek, tasting the air. a snake –
is arrogance and magic; lean,
relentless flex. in the spoiled
warmth of the bar, a snake is
winding through the last eye-
let of sobriety. charmed. is
charming. his whole in-sin-
u-ating length is pendulum.
metronome. stretch. sway.
snake is cheap ease; vodka’s
hot grimace going down.
and down. under the music,
a snake. under the snake –
a man: torque and solemn
force; the tawny trapdoor
of his mouth. a man, after
all. bagging hook with
a begging edge, she said.
shame is what circles her:
round and around. it covers
her face like electrical tape.
to hang on a man as on
a nail; to hang from a snake
as from a rope.