Viper
i must take up my anchor,
tighten my lines to let
the wind fill my sails and
blow me out of this boiling
harbor, frothy-watered like the mouth
of a rabid dog. i cannot
let the bubbling words burning
through your teeth, over
your lips, tie me to
this shore marked for
hurricane; storm surge will
bash in my hull, snap
my mast. i must sail away
or sink myself.
(your venomous bite
and forbidden apples
won't capture me:
slither off on your belly, viper).