Serpentarium

The wailing snakes in my serpentarium
Where jeremiads drone in the walls
Hum softly words in fear of punishment
Swallow their words dreding mind readers

Meander in toxic , hot pools
Where cast-off zigzag skin floats
which now sear their hides
Stroke split tongues against each other
Only to envenom one another
Coil up in swarming bundles
Only to strangle one another
Crush and abandon their eggs
Euthanasia for the unborn

Serpent comforting serpent comforting serpent
Caressing in virulence

Adders dig their way throught sunburnt soil
But rock walls stop them in every tunnel
The harmless grass worms slip out throught tiny punctures
And come back at night with tales of the world outside