The Only Invitation

I was begging / for some grandeur even if it meant / a little blood or whole limb

The Only Invitation

walking in the woods I came upon
a snake it was sunbathing on the trail
not neatly coiled but unashamed it had
acquired its length over the course

of many years it had earned everything
it needed and more I knew the snake
had in mind a grand attack and how
can I explain that I was begging

for some grandeur even if it meant
a little blood or whole limb I bowed
before the snake and promised I was his
I’d do anything he asked and more

at that moment the woods appeared
to fall away not hopelessness exactly
when the world opens its jaws
and invites you to come in