ENCOUNTER

                            Latha Prem Sakhya

I met him one afternoon.

The merciless scintillating sun

Drove every  critter to siesta

So only me and him –

He on the other side of the wall.

His glistening, rhythmic body

Fascinated me, as he swam

Upstream, head held high against the current.

Mesmerised, I admired him,over the low wall

Sensing me, his serpentine movement suspended.

His eyes glued on me, an intruder, I felt

Spying on his mysterious journey

For a rendevous, else where.

His snaky gaze and his fearlessness

Shook me, to call out to my partner

But he balanced, unperturbed

The watery stream, rhythmically

Swaying his undulating body.

“Oh my, he is a beauty, a cobra”.

My partner’s presence, and his appraising  voice,

Disturbed him, slowly he retreated

His glassy stare still on us

As he vanished beneath the undergrowth.