I'm not in love with Tony
said the snake to the frog
and the frog said really (?)
look at yourself curled about yourself
like a hose on a wheel.
 

The snake says it's something else,
--symbiosis; he's a symbol
sex but not love.
 

He knows I'm harmless
but my movement amazes him.
He steps back from my slither.
 

He may be taller than the average
man. I can't tell and
from this height it doesn't matter.
 

Frog says it does:
This guy, Tony,
for all his skill at bending over,
is unsure of animals.
His touch is the tentative kind, I know.