Arthur Gottlieb

Alligator Plans

they hunt us nights
to skin and tan our hides.
those closest who rose
to the bait of limelight
never heard the crack
of the high powered bullet
blowing out the bulb
of their brain.

crouched in a knot
of cypress knees,
i loll in my succulent
mudhole and keep
my trap shut.

someday human feet
will wrinkle the swamp skin.
i’ll make my eyes innocent
as bumps on a log.
a misguided foot slogging
the bog might mistake
my back for a stepping stone.

then i’ll take that leg
in its stride, all the while
snout smiling, i’ll nail
my meal on the double cross
of my teeth
without even lifting a claw.

____

Arthur Gottlieb is an Oregon poet with work appearing in such publications as the Chiron Review, The Pacific Review, The Alembic, and The Ledge.