He wandered through his neighborhood one day

shortly after he was home to stay

from his travels way out west and south

last December when he really wanted out

of the cold and snow and bone-chilling damp

to a place of warmth where he could camp

safe under the stars with scorpions and rattlesnakes

who, unlike his neighbors with all their hates,

only wanted to be left to their own devices.

So here he was back inhaling spring’s delicious spices

wondering when those whose property had been inherited

would strike out with venom and proudly appeal to a reptile’s

“Territorial Imperative.”