​Encounter with a Black Adder on the Path of the Gods (Bomerano, Italy—May 2018)

A black, silk ribbon
     of an adder
          slipped
               down
                    the stones
                         ahead of our procession,
a black remmant
     fallen
          loose
               from the sleeve of a mourner
or a streamer
     on a somber hat
          I’d wear in the church.

I’d watch
     tears
          slip
               down
                    the cheeks of some.

Mine would be dry
     as these stones
          under
               our feet,
                    worn smooth by a
thousand moments of grief.