WRONG WAY

Went to sleep starved,
playing over and over
that scene of belonging,
your hand held out
in search of mine,
'till I gave out:
beneath those trembling
trees, I received a dream.

Body-bruised
and jonesing,
we stepped outside
for a smoke.
Still so hungry,
soon the entire stick
was in my mouth,
dry, crumbling,
mass-manufactured
dying, the crux
devoured.

Eyes opened
to see you driving:
not beside me,
I was only your
passenger.
Delusional,
I thought we
were going
somewhere to eat.
Looked up
to see the scream
of headlights,
the gorgeous
oncoming,
my protests
falling on
mostly-deaf
ears. We
were flying.

Unfazed,
though a bit frazzled,
we made it back
together.

Brash and beautiful,
you were trashing
the highway patrol,
it was all so real I bit
my tongue, stuck
between compliment
and reprimand.

Then I saw the snake.
And another snake.
And another snake.
And another snake.
And another snake.
And another snake.
And another snake.
And another snake.
And another snake.

In every corner,
beneath every surface,
in the walls, climbing
up the sky, in the water,
in the well, hanging
from the ceiling fan,
some were coiled,
others lay lifelessly
across cold tiles.
I could not move an inch.

Woke up
with tears in my eyes,
trembling beneath the trees,
so hungry
and terrified.