The King

The King I sat motionless on the sloping hill A King Cobra my only companion Between us was only a bubbling rill And below us a wide canyon The hill was terraced and had many crags And a recess off to my side He watched me with the wrath of Con Across the small divide Hour after hour he was unchanged This beautiful Cobra snake 'Til I thought I would become deranged And my bones began to ache I chanced to move, not quickly To wipe my wrinkled brow For I was feeling quite sickly I needed to leave there now I reached for some reeds To put on my brow And for my nose that bleeds Suddenly he was gone and I know not how. Copyright © 2004 Lunaria (Lila May Guptill)