Bamboo Snake

Five or six years old
Maybe seven
I had seen only one other

We'd been walking down the concrete steps
To the beach
When up ahead there was a commotion

Upon reaching them
(Those with the longer legs)
I saw it

Long, lithe, green
And dead
Once-supple body dried by that
Unforgiving sun
No threat to anyone

But this one was
Oh so alive
Winding its slender
Green way through the neighbours' hedge
A mere six or seven inches long
(Though I didn't think in such terms
At the time)
Delicate red tongue flicking rapidly
In and out
Tiny, shiny eyes
And I
I alone to see it

The delicious
Horrible knowledge
That this insignificant
Monstrous thing
Could end my life
Was not enough to keep me
From squatting down to study it
To imprint its deadly beauty
On my forever memory

After all
It was just a baby
And I
I was invincible.