The snake has no ears
by Harmony Hodges
With an attitude like a piranha
and a glide like molten lava
the ripple of the Diamondback
migrated through the desert.
In the distance
an owl
stalked the diamondback
but finally gave up
and caressed a chasm near
the plateau of a rock.
“Pssshaw,” the snake said,
then slithered through dry brush.
It flattened a wildflower,
then tongued a
reminiscing,
dying,
scorpion.
The scorpion spoke
on behalf of his desert friends
with amplified reverberation:
“Listen.
Kill quickly.
Temper justice with mercy -
the weak will
be too strong for you
at this time of day…”
But his words drifted away
on a strand of wind
as a force in the distance beckoned the snake.
A white light.
no, a rabbit.
A temple of energy
A mound of blood.
The snake crept
then paused
then dove
with teeth made of talons.
The rabbit ran as
the sun set
beneath a
slit throat sky.
The rabbit fell
and fixated
on the last cottontail cloud
tranquil,
frozen,
as the venom s l o w l y pervaded.
Writers Bio
I live in Portland Oregon.
Enter Bio
Inspirational Image

Pieces Inspired by this Image
'Anonyscape'
by A.J. Huffman
'Low'
by Nick Bryan
'Edge'
by C.K. Ledford