April 4, 2008
Where it’s Safe
we were playing in the garden
my friends and I
and saw behind the bushes
a patch of scaly skin
indistinct in the gloom
but we knew it was a snake
whether it was a small one
that we could handle
or a large one
that could handle us
we did not know
so we went to play elsewhere
where the sun shone more brightly
and safety seemed more real
never acknowledging the Gardener
knew of the snake all along
After a compromise I disagreed with.