Solve et Coagula by Matt Dennison

Against the oncoming
traffic I managed

to guide the snake
out of the street and

up the curb, but
I did not carry him

to the woods or
even to the safety

of a nearby bush,
either of which,

on reflection,
would have been

easy enough to do.

Unless spoken, how

tasted, this life?

Matt Dennison is the author of Kind Surgery, from Urtica Press (Fr.) His work has appeared in Rattle, Bayou Magazine, Redivider, Natural Bridge, The Spoon River Poetry Review and Cider Press Review, among others. He has also made short films with Michael Dickes, Swoon, Marie Craven and Jutta Pryor.