To a Snake

I think you as a snake
A mess of heightened markings
A dry unblinking presence
In the rustling of the leaves
Snakes taste the air
Navigate along
The drops of bitter
Crumbs of sweet
I lie here racked and stretching
And think you taste my outline
(Tongue-forking through the souring crystals
Licking at the lines of salt)
I dream you as a snake
Squeezing gut-like through this door-lock
Coma-eyed from blood-cold seeking
Errant quarry in your sight
I lie here edged in floor dust
And feel the splinters scratching
As I hear your barbed-wire wriggle
Across this no-man's land
And then?
And then what then?
Will your wiles unpick my seam?
And if so what then?
Will the stuffing tumble out?
Or will your ingenuity reveal
Just emptiness?
And will you, my love, be made to feel
(The first time) powerless?
Now I stand here stretched and stable
My toeprint on your nape
And wonder should I stamp
Or invite the gap-toothed gape
No, I merely sigh away
And feign indifference
Your guile has merely dragged you here
To share my impotence
Because you may have stormed the castle
But you do not hold the key
So we're left prisoners of your useless
Flexibility.