TR BRADY





INSTEAD OF SLEEP


A picture of a bloated copperhead
is posted to the city subreddit:
What kind of snake is this?
Is it dead?
Hershey kiss pattern=copperhead
Coral snacks do not have triangular heads in Alabama
Looks like a dead one to me.

Its body scythe-like and bright.
The pavement wet-dark.
I'm told that when I was a child
my father killed a snake
on the back patio
with a garden shovel
and that I was watching
from the other side
of the sliding glass doors.
I don't know how clean the kill was.
I've always imagined a neat separation:
the head, the trunk and tail.
If I hadn't heard this story I'd tell you
I've never seen a snake,
but know well enough that a dead thing
can kill you.






AUTOCORRECT: THREE