Specimen
by Dan Bourne
It is blue with black splotches, evolved
to blend in with the roadway and its many chuck holes
as it slithers back and forth, each lane
a playground, strong teeth cutting through hides
of porcupine or even armadillo. It swallows the hard
carcass in chunks. We don’t know if it possesses
a developed sense of smell. Some examples
have a stronger backbone than others, withstanding
the weight of an emptied semi. Others
have the ability to spread themselves out slick
as oil or black ice. And if you run over one, going
home in a slight rain that set in after midnight,
how can you blame its next motion? It, too, is
interested in nature. What an interesting specimen,
it mumbles to itself.