I’m only a little obsessed with snakes, sharks, and alligators,
probably because they’re strong, probably because they scare people.
I never saw a live snake before,
except for at the zoo or in the tattoo on my back.
I once told my father even when you are friends with someone,
you should make sure they are a little bit afraid of you. When he asked, I said,
then people will think before they speak, then people know that you bite.
The snake didn’t strike when I traced his tattooed back.
Instead, he was fragile—like the frogs lining the boardwalk,
gutted by tourists on bikes.
On the crumbled path, I guarded him
from bikers and dogs, made sure he got across to find the warmth
of a sunned rock. The diamond head straining
& the emerald tail following.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 26, Issue 3.
Hayley Rieg was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. While attending undergraduate studies at Duquesne University she was awarded the O’Donnell Award for Excellence in the field of Poetry Writing. She completed a Master of Fine Arts degree from Chatham University, studying Creative Writing with a Poetry & Teaching concentration. Additionally, she is an active participant in Carlow University’s Madwomen in the Attic Writing Workshop program. She has been published in the Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Lost Sparrow Press, and Chatham University’s Voices in the Attic Vol. 23, Vol. 24, & Vol 26. Currently, Hayley works at the University of Pittsburgh as a Project Manager and Academic Adviser.
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