Mother Anaconda slithers up my spine   

In shadows spiraling from heart to throat 

Powerful basalt tattoo kneads 

Twilight tendrils uncoil in wisps of smoke

Threatening

Throttling 

Choking

Pleading ?

– Let me out

And there she stands

Snowy coat blue fire gaze

Glowing forth, lit from within  

Her head lifted up to howl. 

She whispers to me 

– Let go

Snake scales 

Shed my skin  

Embrace the dragon within 

Dancing running naked wolves 

Under a moonlight skein  

Let her back in.

24.9.2020   

George Catlin, -1872.

Catlin and His Indian Guide Approaching Buffalo under White Wolf Skins, painted between 1846 and 1848, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Image: Wikimedia Commons