There is an invisible snake that’s followed me

There is an invisible snake that’s followed me, 

Since before I knew my alphabet. 

I would hide, 

Under my pink fortress of bedding

Helpless to the invasions of its scales, 

It slid and slithered up my leg, 

Curled and tightened. 

Claimed my flesh. 

The word for it was known to me only 

As a nauseating twist in the gut, 

A flood of terror through my veins

Like venom; like a snow angel, 

I was numb. 

There is an invisible snake that has followed me,                                                                    

As I learned to count to ten.

In lonely corners of classrooms,

Torn from all,

Human eyes and chattering tongues,

Flickering, hissing in my ear. 

When warm smiles asked about home, 

Its scales constricted around my throat. 

Tightening, tightening…

Till I shook my head.  

That night instead of sheep 

I counted  

5...4...3... 

Footsteps creeping, creeping 

Up the stairs... 

There is an invisible snake that has followed me, 

As superstition follows black cats. 

So venom-drugged, I seized an axe, 

And chopped the head clean off! 

Serpent blood burst out scalding hot,

And stained my hands like paint, 

Alas… 

The stain has faded, but remains, 

Even as I abandon pink fortresses, 

And recall every letter from A-Z. 

There is an invisible snake that has followed me. 

On the fence between two fields I sit, 

In a poisonous dream like a dark souvenir 

2...1... 

A hissing, hissing in my ear.