The snake charmer coaxes
a cobra from a woven basket.

The cobra hisses, sways
to the earthy music.

I yearn to be cocooned
in onion skins from the sun.

Mysteries of the desert
pulse in my head.

A red sun rises withered as my tongue.
A river rushes under the sand.

The snake charmer enters the cave,
and sways to the flute’s lyrical music.

I am the cobra who
suffered the scorching sun.

Reborn from the shed husk, I
slither far from charming flutes and baskets.

[Author’s Note: Serpents and snakes are symbols of the Goddess. Snakes represent life, death and rebirth, because they hibernate in the winter and emerge in the spring wearing a new skin. They protect their eggs and are seen as maternal, connecting them to the Mother Goddess archetype.]

[Heddy Johannesen is a Witch and freelance writer. Her work has appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer, Circle Magazine, Crone Newsletter, and Essential Herbal magazine. She eagerly anticipates spring’s return to work on her garden to grow organic fruit, veggies, and flowers. She loves to eat pomegranates.]