The Antients on Vipers
That in copulation the Male
did insert his Head into the throat of the Female
and there emitted his seed.
That the Female, finding a titillation from the emission
snapp’d off with her teeth the head of the Male.
That the Young Vipers, being ready to be brought forth
did pierce the Womb
and sides of the Damm
to make a passage for themselves.
That by killing her, they revenged
the death of their Sire.
We need not wonder if the remedies we draw from its body
are of a not-ordinary virtue.

Originally published in White Wall Review 40 (2016)