A. F. Naturaliy

Vipers

Everyone around me looks like Vipers.

As their scales encapture you,

They are the ones who have become the charmers.

Their teeth cup deep,

Their venom stings.

Betrayal is the tender kiss

Belonging only to the darkest of lips.

They whisper sweet nothings into your ear,

Only to shout your hidden story to others the next.

Stress and drama tightens around me as the viper prepares their meal.

I hear ringing in my ears--

I cannot breathe.

I wish I knew garden snakes

Rather than these beasts.