The copperhead and me

Oakley Ayden

how many times did my 

bare callow feet retreat 

into those sweating woods? 

i don’t know. one time though 

a copperhead coiled all her clout to strike me from her sanctum. i 

related as i ran, risking slash in mother’s grass where the copperhead and me could 

off-recordly be slaughtered — 

beheaded, or desouled.

Oakley Ayden is an autistic, bisexual writer from North Carolina. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in Ghost City Review, Motherscope Magazine, Not Very Quiet, The Minison Project, The Cabinet of Heed, and elsewhere. She currently lives in California’s San Bernardino National Forest with her two daughters. Find her on Twitter (@Oakley_Ayden) or Instagram (@Oakley.Ayden).