I had landed my space pod
Down by Cobra Lake
When I was accosted by a snake named Caesar.

I started to laugh about his name;
he said, “Actually, it’s quite germane.”
“I was almost a salad.”

I inquired if he was packaged in cabbage.
He said, “No, romaine.”

He stuck his fangs into my heel;
I asked if I was his next meal.
He sank in deeper.

“Is that poison?” I asked out of habit.
He said, “How should I know?”
“I’ve never done this before.”

Before I could speak, he said his
Future was at stake.
And if he could just leave Cobra Lake…

So the two of us hopped into
My road-ready shuttle
To search for the nearest new home

And as he blithely pondered new life
I contemplated my past
Two souls striving to decipher

We drifted together…

Into the path of a very present Dodge Viper.