after lunch

after lunch

walking up the path
i hear myself shriek
high
and girly;
i cover my mouth.
they laugh.
then,
i register:
white and black
wiry haired
possum
spread flat
on the stoop.
mouth agape,
fierce teeth
ooze blood.

then,
hit over the head, one more time.

yet, still squirming
the tail,
a whip lashing.
with slow,
curvy twists
in the hips,
it heaves
up
and
down.

tiene mucha vida,
says mayra.
and i wonder,
who will say that
about me.