I swerve around
the splattered raccoon.
The snake though
receives no mercy.
I make a point
of rolling my tires
over its shattered corpse,
battle the urge
to reverse
and do it over again.
I'm not sure whether it's lifetime fear
or that poor creature's reputation
as the personification
of all evil
but some days,
on deserted country roads,
my car and I
become all that I am capable of
and the snake,
even in death,
is one thing left to do.