Black Mamba

Your bite came so quickly and with such surgical precision,

that had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have known

that your delicate fangs had stricken me at all.

So soft was their touch, the puncture brought no pain.

I start to panic once I realize my fate,

but as I see your slender body slithering away,

those mercury scales glistening in the African sun,

I am smitten by your finesse and your grace.

I could never hate a creature as beautiful as you.

 

My lips start to tingle, hairs stand on end,

and uneasiness grips my stomach.

My sight blurs gently like the movement of a raft

being pushed ever so slowly to a waterfall that will send me

plummeting into an abyss of jagged darkness.

 

My body begins to slip from my being,

when the sorcery in your sting seizes me.

That sweet, venomous byproduct, more potent than morphine

brings euphoria, a fatal love for this moment,

and all tragedy is lost to a pure sense of pleasure.

 

I am glad to know

that despite you bringing me my end,

you’ve shown me intoxication beyond what most have known.

Your lethal kiss doomed me, but I am not upset.

Our paths crossed, I felt your gifts,

and now, completely at peace, I let the bliss fade to black.

***

(Minneapolis, MN -- May, 2016)

This was one of the last poems I wrote for my poetry class. As I was preparing to join the Peace Corps in Mozambique (I hope I don't fail miserably!), I was watching wildlife documentaries about the animals that live in that corner of Africa. I found the documentary I watched on black mamba snakes particularly interesting because they said that the venom gives a euphoric experience as it kills you. That seemed like it could be applied to love, so I wrote this poem. It wasn't a true story until it was.