June 5, 2005

Song for a Snake to Hum

By Tony Brown

this is how things are

there are places
where snakes wait
tails in their mouths
against the chance people
will stop pretending that
there is no proof
of the way they chase themselves
of the way each end
is in its beginning

this has been proved

but
it has not happened
in so long
it is as if
it hasn’t ever happened

people say
if it happened
where’s the proof
that it happened

when another snake
happens to eat
its own tail
it seems that would be
enough proof

instead what will happen
(what always happens)
is that people
not trusting that what happens
happens
will demand
plural and immediate proof
and it takes so long
for these things
to happen
and it only happens
in solitary moments
that
they will forget and deny
that it ever happened

yes
it takes
so long to prove
that what happens
to a snake and its tail
is what always happens

but now we are here
and here’s another snake
reaching around himself

this is how things end and begin
this is how it happens

About Tony Brown

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A poet with a history in slam, lots of publications; my personal poetry and a little bit of daily life and opinions. Read the page called "About..." for the details. View all posts by Tony Brown
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 5th, 2005 at 2:09 am and posted in uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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