Sibilant Games

 

What is a mothers duty 
but to raise her little ones
and spark curiosity in them?
To show love is always the answer
And to protect your own before others 

A ducking raised
Around seething snakes
Refusing to partake in the killing of others
Or smothering of the younger through lies,
trickery, and shaming ways

They mock the little duckling,
her soft flesh so exposed. 
The arched spine, the dry, scaly hiss
A glint of enamel flashes in the light 
The ducks eyes wide-
then a SNAP

The siblings laugh at this game
The duckling frozen stiff 
As if she never played
Her posture of certain death 
Gave the snake a slip away
Laughing at the little scratch