The Snake on the bus.

The snake on the bus:       Nov 27

Did I imagine it?

The man in the back of the bus

With the snake around his shoulders,

His neck? -

A python, a boa - I don’t remember -

But he was telling the little girl

Who sat next to him,

That he has a little girl at home, too.

And she is perfectly safe with the snake

Who roams

From room to room,

The once-a-month feeding of a chicken,

Feathers and all, a bump, a lump,

Somewhere in her beautiful,

Scaled, elongated form,

As it makes it way down to her stomach.

And his little girl is perfectly safe.

The mother of the little girl -

The girl on the bus, - looked dubious,

To say the least,

As he asked if the little girl would like

To touch the snake -  who had a name -

Bella, I think it was,

And who, he said, would greet him

At his front door

If

He had left the house without it –

Her.

And the boa -  or python -  would wait for him,

Just as a dog would,

Lying, in this case, curled up,

Ready to greet him when he got home.

It was, he said, actually affectionate.

Now, I have no problem with snakes;

They are dry-skinned and scaly

And move in a whisper of curves.,

Which I think is

Beautiful.

But I might hesitate to have a fifteen 

Or even ten foot snake

Waiting for me when I got home

Or let my little child wander in the house

Where Bella wanders, too.

Or drapes herself over the sofa,

Or snuggles up behind a chair.

“What happens when it gets too big?”

Someone- the mother, I think, - asked.

“I’ll sell it,” he said.

“And get another one.”

Now – can this really be real?

And how did this man,

With Bella wrapped around his shoulders,

Her tongue flicking toward the window

The end of her tail hanging down like his tie,

Manage to get on the bus?

Somehow I think it is really not allowed.

But through the back door perhaps,

Where,

The bus driver would be unaware,

And why did no one, like me,

Send the word forward: 

A Sssssnake!!!!!

Someone would have screamed.

Oddly enough, I have seen him in the park

With Bella circling his shoulders;

In fact, I took a picture.

But the bus –

Did I really see it?

Or was his description to the little,

Mesmerized girl

So real

So compelling,

That I think I did.