Shedding Skin

If lies were serpents,
Eve would be transparent
and sin would exist
only in fairy tales.

If serpents were flowers and did not crawl,
their bellies would cradle butterflies.

If serpents closed their eyes
and forgot how to dream,
the moon would hide
and the stars would go dark.

If serpents wept into the earth,
their tears would fall as faith
and rise as a rainbow.

If serpents were thin and soft,
they would be guitar strings
and their venom a song of hope.

If serpents were silence,
I would spit poetry
and inject the saliva of freedom.

If truths were serpents,
wise words would never die;
they would only shed their skin
and continue.