After a quiet evening drinking tea and reading Ishmael (yes somehow for the first time) I went for a stroll down the gravel road. Found a baby turtle that had been run over which I deposited in the creek with a prayer and also a family of deer. After losing myself staring up into the magnificent leaves of a catalpa I thought to myself - snake. Kept walking a bit up the road and my black snake friend who Ive met a few times before was kinked up on the side of the road in what I understand to be a fearful posture. Instead of walking on around I paused and knelt down, shifting my gaze away from the snake and maintaining a state of calm. After sitting there together for several moments I looked at her with relaxed eyes and flicked my tongue out several times. The snake jerked her head up a bit, flicked her tongue and then relaxed her body, straightening out her kinks and slithered towards me, crossing the road not more than three feet in front of me. I sat down and watched her slither away through the grass. And then somehow everything seemed so much more alive... even the plantain flowers in front of my face seemed to be nodding hello. I cried a bit for the joy of it and then headed on home.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 00:18:30 +0000