Alexis Rhone Fancher: Snake/Holding Things Down

There’s a warning in the desert today. A high wind is howling, blustery, blowing everything away. My lover’s put heavy rocks on the mats around the Jacuzzi. Trying to hold everything down so he doesn’t have to capture it later. The towels, the lounge chairs, the barbecue, me. I bought a snake from Lowe’s, he says. 

My lover’s a DIY guy. Multi-talented. Intellectual, paramour, sous chef, and handyman. The kitchen sink’s backed up. I point out the sludge, the glug glug, each time I turn on the tap. He bends down to inspect the pipes. There’s even a bit of butt-crack. He threads the snake into the kitchen drain, coaxes it down. It makes a loud, sucking complaint, the sludge reluctant to depart.

I’m going back to Lowe’s to get a bigger, longer snake, my lover says. Get a king snake, I whisper in his ear. I reach between his legs, cop a feel. Yeah, sure, he says, rolling his eyes. A king snake. He gives my roving hand a squeeze. Or would you prefer a boa constrictor?

Lately things have been good between us. We’ve each learned to listen. I’m a writer. I play with words. He’s a lover; he plays with me. I love him best when he’s  in my universe. Takes note of the world around us through my rose-colored glasses. Shares. Yesterday it was the rainbow he saw on the way back from Lowe’s. 

You should have seen it, baby, he said. Every color – brilliant red to ultraviolet! He passed his iPhone to me. Look! he said. I captured it for you. A shimmering arc of color holds down the horizon.

Poem and photo copyright 2024 Alexis Rhone Fancher

Poet/Photographer, Alexis Rhone Fancher, is published in Best American Poetry, Rattle, Verse Daily, The American Journal of Poetry, Plume, Diode, Flock, Hobart, and elsewhere. Her 9th and 10th books of poetry, BRAZEN, (NYQ Books) and TRIGGERED, a feminist response (MacQueens) published in 2023. A hard cover book of her photo portraits of Southern California poets will be published by Moon Tide Press in early 2025. A multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, Alexis lives and creates in the Mohave Desert with her husband, Fancher. They have an extraordinary view. http://www.alexisrhonefancher.com