THE SNAKE

It moved as the unseen host drew the curtains of the sky

as if spurred by the onset of long shadows

Today it was long, coupled twenty five times or more

With tell tale marks of days when it had been longer

Its skin glistened from a recent bath

and its sides bore markings of an ancient code

Branded by workers toiling without recognition

in recesses found far from the daily grind

It sped over a predetermined path, eyes forward

sniffing the air with its steel trapped jaws

the patterned bumps on its undulating back

rising and falling in unison with gaps in the track

Its motion was decided by the kiss of an electrified hand

commanded with a flick of a uniformed wrist

that raised metal arms heavenward in acceptance

of a thousand volts of refined speed

And within its belly lay a thousand souls 

content in repose with dreams of tomorrow

Each bound to the energy of the journey

Murmuring nothings to nobody