A snake came to my water-trough On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat, To drink there. In the deep, strange-scented shade of the great dark carob tree I came down the steps with my pitcher And must wait, must stand and wait, for there he was at the trough before me. He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down, over the edge of the stone trough And rested his throat upon the stone bottom, And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small clearness, He sipped with his straight mouth, Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body, Silently. Someone was before me at my water-trough, And I, like a second-comer, waiting. He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do, And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do, And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips, and mused a moment, And stooped and drank a little more, Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the burning bowels of the earth On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking. The voice of my education said to me He must be killed, For in Sicily the black, black snakes are innocent, the gold are venomous. And voices in me said, if you were a man You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off. But must I confess how I liked him, How glad I was he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at my water-trough And depart peaceful, pacified, and thankless, Into the burning bowels of this earth ? Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him ? Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him ? Was it humility, to feel so honoured ? I felt so honoured. And yet those voices : If you were not afraid, you would kill him ! And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid, But even so, honoured still more That he should seek my hospitality From out the dark door of the secret earth. He drank enough And lifted his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken, And flickered his tongue like a forked night on the air, so black, Seeming to lick his lips, And looked around like a god, unseeing, into the air, And slowly turned his head, And slowly, very slowly, as if thrice adream, Proceeded to draw his slow length curving round And climb again the broken bank of my wall-face. And as he put his head into that dreadful hole, And as he slowly drew up, snake-easing his shoulders, and entered farther, A sort of horror, a sort of protest against his withdrawing into that horrid black hole, Deliberately going into the blackness, and slowly drawing himself after, Overcame me now his back was turned. I looked round, I put down my pitcher, I picked up a clumsy log And threw it at the water-trough with a clatter. I think it did not hit him, But suddenly that part of him that was left behind convulsed in undignified haste, Writhed like lightning, and was gone Into the black hole, the earth-lipped fissure in the wall-front, At which, in the intense still noon, I stared with fascination. And immediately I regretted it. I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act ! I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education. And I thought of the albatross, And I wished he would come back, my snake. For he seemed to me again like a king, Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld, Now due to be crowned again. And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords Of life. And I have something to expiate : A pettiness.

Hugo, you’re the fluffiest cat of all And I love you Despite your claws Maybe you’re just a robot in disguise, a cyborg cat Hugo! Coming through the window Hugo! Sitting on the Table Hugo! And when he wants some wet (food) Re Re Re re Re Re Re Hugo! Drinking from the faucet sink Hugo! Footprints everywhere Hugo! Sleeping on the couch Meow Meow Meow meow Meow Meow Meow Hugo! When you see me walking outside You pretend you don’t know me Don’t walk away from me cat Stupid cat’s ignoring me Cause he thinks he’s so cool When you find yourself yelling at the cat for no particular reason so why don’t you bake yourself a catloaf And don’t forget because I feed you Hugo! Coming through the window Hugo! Sitting on the Table Hugo! And when he wants some wet Re Re Re re Re Re Re Hugo! Drinking from the faucet sink Hugo! Footprints everywhere Hugo! Sleeping on the couch Meow Meow Meow meow Meow Meow Meow Hugo! (I feed you) I FEED YOU! Hugo! Coming through the window Hugo! Sitting on the Table Hugo! And when he wants some wet Re Re Re re Re Re Re Hugo! He’s puking in the hallway Hugo! I’m yelling at the cat Hugo! But he’s been gone four days Meow Meow Meow meow Meow Meow Meow Hugo!

The average human body takes 7 weeks to decompose I woke up, by my honey He smiled and said "what do you see?" So I looked and I thought about all the things we said aloud and I said Let’s feed the birds I thought that romance was dead Till he too me to the door of his blood shed I said, let’s feed the birds That’s when he asked me, “is it too soon?” I wouldn’t lie I’d be over the moon. Bought a hammer and a saw and all the nails for the walls and then we kissed They’re so nice to listen to, all their squawks and caws Let’s go play outside, with the birds Chickadees and cockerdoos, ravens and cuckaws Buiiiiilding, a birdfeeder He walks right into the crowd And screams “!!!!!!!!” real loud He grabs a guy and a girl, bashed their heads and made them hurl And then he screams I feed the birds I smiled & handed him the saw While I nailed them to the walls We had fire, and a flood, Broken bones and all this blood and then we kissed They’re so nice to listen to, all their squawks and caws Let’s go play outside, with the birds Chickadees and cockerdoos, ravens and cuckaws Buiiiiilding, a birdfeeder “You know a lot of other animals feed from a birdfeeder” The fetid flesh will feed the flies The mice come after a day Carrion crows will eat the eyes Might even see a butterfly The maggots show up pretty fast Seize the moment while it lasts Or else It’s all about love They’re so nice to listen to, all their squawks and caws Let’s go play outside, with the birds Chickadees and cockerdoos, ravens and cuckaws Buiiiiilding, a birdfeeder

You ain't going nowhere ‘cept straight up to the stars You ain't going nowhere grab a helmet We’ve all got shrapnel scars We've got gleaming probes of blue… and we’ve got blasters in our shoes… we'll take care of you In the waiting room You and me, speed of light, we won't make it out alive So what do we care We don't even think that we'll survive Every day the nights grow long Gentle robots without a face will save the human race In the depths…. of hyperspace We're passing asteroid belts Don’t worry, the ship it flies itself and remember to work together as a Space Team We've got telescopic paranoia From the wormholes we once knew We’ll take a care of you to(o) Entertain the dignitaries, adversaries vent out your frustration Engage the trapezoidal monitor and blame society As you can see, your excellency, I’m not familiar With evasive maneuvers, droids, and all things DIY Every day another puzzle piece, will permanently fall out of place To save the human race In the depths…. of hyperspace We're in Proctalphelf Don’t worry, the ship it flies itself Just follow the directions, and remember, to work together As a space team You’re a Space Team! Hyperspace!