I thought it was so tragic
And nothing could be badder
I peeked inside the basket
and beheld the speckled adder
I predicted mass destruction
The rope could only tighten
But no noose is good noose
It was a cat-eyed python
I thought I had shed blood for you
There was none such as this
'The poet of the universe'
And then I heard the hiss
(2006)
Mike Finley
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-darling-serpentine/
