Amphisbaena

Amphisbaena

She approached from behind

Argus-eyed on both ends

Stalking her early morning prey.

The Queen of arid lands

Amphisbaena by thy name

Amphisbaena by thy nature.

Her victim was an Ariel

Do-eyed and fragile.

With an anguilliform  leap

She maneuvered her prey in her grip.

Socrates narrated her to his scholars

Homer sang her praises blindly to watchers-by

Amphisbaena was the dark seductress

And some said she only ate ants

Therefore she was benign.

She was a muse to Tennyson and Shelley.

An enigma she remained for cryptozoologists

My  Amphisbaena is no innocent

Nor is she a victim.

Therefore she stalks her rare preys

Desperation sharpens her mind

Her nimble limbs hide under ocher soil

Her eyes are watchful.

She has offspring to feed

Therefore a babe Ariel fits the bill.

She jumps on her victim and wins the race.

Race for life. Race for her offspring.

A mythological creature she is no more.

Amphisbaena is a mother for all.