muscles 

in a news article i read
they found a giant
15ft long python today 
image: five men working to hold 
the thick ink ribbon up
dry tall grass all around 
the muscles of the men all
strained against the weight
of the animal
balloons under skin
the snake longer
than three of me 
if I was all laying down on the floor
& looking up at the ceiling
three of me rolling over 
to lay on our stomachs
three of me, each counting
the other one's scales
a collar bone full of scale
flattened jewels
a necklace pressed into flesh 
i'm thinking about the snake's muscles 
what that looks like
under the scale
a kind of collaboration 
of meat
a belly asking the ground
over & over
what the body should do
with all the directions
how to scale a heavy wall 
i check my room for
snakes: under bed &
in the closet
i do find a snake
possibly longer than
the one those men found
i should have known it's
been here all this time
this snake is green & loud
with tongue flickering
a pink flame
i do what all people
would do &
i get on my stomach 
so that it knows i'm
just a snake too 
& the snake shows me 
how to get longer
how to stretch & remain 
thick with muscle
the important part 
is finding a place to leave
your bones
i hung mine on coat hangers
making mobiles
our bones must prevent
something more 
than just stretching
i think of those men
holding the snake up &
the way their bones
& muscles let them 
bring the creature into the air
the strained grins on their faces
the fear evident 
in their their knees
i'm thankful 
i'm the snake