The Snake is Not the Problem
by Dorothy Alexander


By the hundreds
they swooped into the garden
on buzzing wings and
ugly saw-tooth legs

Pesky, greedy hordes
ate the onions
ate the lilacs
and worst of all
the Belladonna Lilies
called naked ladies
beauties in their prime
the queens of the garden
gone
eaten down to a stub

It’s happened before
in this harsh Eden
where ladies have always
been plagued
by one thing or another

Pharaoh himself fared better
His torment ended
after only seven years.






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