| The Snake |
| Pain, like a long thick poisonous snake who slithers and slides While it winds its way around my unsuspecting mind Searching for hidden soft spots of weakness Where this nemesis can eagerly lie in wait For the chance to strike out at the first provocation This wretched fiend rears its ugly head at the happiest of moments One instant all is well with the world, until I hear its faint hissing laughter In the background,this horrid perverse mirth grows ever louder in my mind I shrink back in revulsion as I prepare for the mental assault to come Then like some twisted joke, the Snake appears to mount its attack Suddenly, the taunting begins, "You think you can be happy?" He hisses his taunts while slithering and sliding around my weak soft spots "You think you are different? Child,you know it is all a lie. Life is only pain & payment. You pay for every bright & shining moment that you have in life. You know that you do. The Pied Piper is always hungry, so now it is time to pay." I scream that his allegations are vicious lies while attempting to cut him in half With my mind's sharp sword of truth in one quick stroke of logic But self-confidence eludes me, leaving me instead with a dull & useless blade In solace, my mind searches back for times when my Burning Sword of Truth Hits its mark wounding the ever present & hated Snake of Pain During those brief moments of triumph I can almost sense freedom close at hand Is it possible to live blessedly free of this pain & torment always hidden inside? What would it be like to wipe away doubts & past anguish? Do I have the courage & ability to force myself into this altered state? Best not to ponder this now, the Snake has mended & I must be prepared. The snake rapidly returns to a darker corner of my mind while silently watching And waiting for the next twist in my life brought on by the fickle fates Swiftly an opportunity presents its self again signaling the next match of wills I sense the snake's eagerness as it wraps its cold, scaly body around my aching mind I struggle vigilantly however vainly for freedom & he tightens his artic coils in response Frantically, I turn inward seeking solace & find I have none to spare Without warning, I am quickly engulfed by his contagious madness seeping from his coils His warped reality becomes mine as his vicious laughter rocks my mind Sensing my eminent defeat, the Snake wraps himself ever tighter around me Sadly I bow my head, conceding my loss of will to my Victor, the Snake Now, I sit wrapped in his freezing scaly wet coils bidding my time Dreaming of a day when I may mortally wound him Forever disabling his deadly ability to efficiently strike out at me But that day has not dawned for what feels like an eternity, while Slowly I am edging towards insanity in his constant hissing perverse laughter |
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| Davina Hsiao-started Winter 1990- revised Summer 2002 |