Sarah and the Snake soup

Eating snakes
is weird
only when you aren't Chinese,
thinks Sarah Easoph
on a drop from a half swing
between sleep and conscious
by her desk,
where computer generates
noisy warnings.

She tells me
she dreamt of
of delicious snakes
salted, in chilly sauce,
in honey.

Every evening,
she walks all the way down
a narrow street
from her office
to a 150 sq ft room.

Have you tried
walking that street?
Men emerge from the bushes,
behind the walls -
on bikes, in auto rickshaws,
running.
Clusters of men pass by
they stare they pull
they hurt
your skin your nipples
sometimes
there are others who walk
their way
they are better
till you call for help
and they don't hear.

Last night
a wild Mongoose
shine in her eyes.
Sleeping cuddled
pillows between her legs,
she dreamt of
peppered snake soup.
she says
The meat melted in her mouth.