The Lost Return Poem by Romella Kitchens

The long black snake glides across the water home.
It used to let the water sing in its mouth.
Now, it no longer does.
The trees once as Mecca to its heart are now
snubbed, pushed by saws into a merciless
past.

The snake came back here from a past life
to be purified by knowing goodness again.
But, the world and the woods have changed.

So, tomorrow when the light raises its fair, silky head again, the snake will follow "father snake" river out, over, further away from those who walk
and on.