A swarm of garter snakes
charged blindly through a school
of minnows trapped in a shrunken pool
swinging their open mouths
from side to side until they
caught the helpless fish.
Two snakes grabbed
the same fish and began
to swallow it, one from the head
and one from the tail until
they met each other
snout to snout.
A tug of war ensued,
without give or quarter.
A snake’s teeth make it difficult
to back off what they begin to swallow.
Would one snake have to eat
the other if neither refused to yield?
This way and that way
they struggled, each determined
to prevail. In an instant, one gaped
wide releasing the minnow,
shot back across the sand to the pool
to try for another. Undoubtably successful.
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