HILARY ELFICK

Snake

 

While we were messing around one morning
with the cattle dog and I had tossed the
chewed rubber ball against the long window
he shouted ‘Snake!’ so I went out to see.

It flinched and began to coil its way up
to the rafters above the bones the dog had left,
his old tin bowl, and I was thinking it was
the bush rat or the water that had drawn it here.

It hung its head, letting it drift from side to side,
as if it wondered what I did till suddenly, and
mark that sudden, it dropped to come
and feel me for itself. The door handle

wouldn’t budge. It was quite logical, his reason
for holding it tight on the inside, while with
the other grip he half-strangled the dog
who craned to bite. Our eyes met

through the glass. I had nowhere to go.
Twenty years younger, and with adrenalin
whose ferocity never ceases to surprise, I
wrenched the handle and burst inside

slamming it, so the great glass shook. But
the snake had followed and reared up,
quivering, and made to stab against
the glass just inches from my knee, till

maybe it thought that it had seen me off,
or had just tired, still needing water,
it slid down the open struts of the veranda,
spreading itself a while on the paved yard.

And so I photographed it, twice, where its shape
made a dappled pattern on the squares. Later
I took a tape down to the stones and sent
my film and all the figures to the zoo,

who called at once, demanding ‘D’ya realise
what the hell that was?’ – the largest Eastern Brown
on record, though they would not let it take
my name, and its wild wet kisses and its

cold embrace and its calm patience make you
writhe and moan until the pain of love goes on
beyond the fire, and you find that you are
screaming as the darkness comes.

Roxana-Monica Mîndrican

Hilary Elfick
 

Sarpe

Pe cand ne jucam intr-o dimineata
cu cainele ciobanesc si aruncasem
pe fereastra inalta mingea de cauciuc
el a strigat „un sarpe” si m-am dus sa vad.

A zvacnit si a inceput sa se tarasca
catre grinda deasupra oaselor lasate de caine,
vechiul sau bol de tinichea, si ma gandeam ca
vreun sobolan sau apa il adusesera aici

capul ii atarna dintr-o parte intr-alta
de parca s-ar fi intrebat ce faceeam pana cand brusc,
trebuie sa observati aceasta bruschete, s-a lasat in jos
ca sa ma atinga. Clanta

nu se clintea. Avea motive intemeiate
sa o tina strans de cealalta parte, iar cealalta
stransoare aproape ca strangulase cainele
care il inhatase sa-l muste. Privirile ni s-au intalnit

prin geam. Nu aveam unde sa ma duc.
Cu douzeci de ani mai tanara, si plina de adrenalina
de o ferocitate mereu surprinzatoare, am
rasucit clanta si m-am napustit inauntru

trantind usa, si geamurile s-au zguduit. Dar
sarpele m-a urmat si s-a ridicat
vibrand si strapungand geamul*
la un pas de genunchiul meu, pana cand

a crezut ca m-a trantit la pamant,
sau poate doar obosise, avand nevoie de apa,
s-a strecurat de-a lungul verandei deschise
tarandu-se o vreme pe dalele din curte.

l-am fotografiat asa de doua ori, acolo unde trupu-i
lasase o dara albicioasa pe dale. Mai taraziu
mi-am luat caseta jos si am trimis
filmul si toate cifrele la zoo,

cine a strigat din senin „iti dai seama
ce naiba a fost asta?”- cel mai mare Eastern Brown*
de pana atunci, desi nu nu ii vor lasa sa imi ia
numele si saruturile sale umede si salbatice si

imbratisarea-i rece si rabdarea-i calma ce te face
sa te crispezi si sa gemi pana durerea iubirii dispare
in vapaile focului, si te trezesti tipand
tipi la lasarea intunericului.

*“stab against the glass”- “strapungand geamul”; I chose ‘a strapunge’(to pierce, to perforate) because in Romanian the verb focuses both on the idea of sharpness and ferocity (given the fact that we are talking about a very dangerous snake).

*The Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis), often referred to as the Brown Snake, is an elapid snake native to Australia. It is one of the world's deadliest snakes. This, combined with a native habitat which includes the well-populated east coast of Australia, has resulted in fatalities. Adult Eastern Brown Snakes are highly variable in color. Whilst usually a uniform shade of brown, they can have various patternings including speckles and bands, and range from a very pale fawn colour through to black, including orange, silver, yellow and grey. Juveniles have a black head, with a lighter band behind, a black nape, and numerous red-brown spots on the belly. Occasionally they have dark cross-bands