Did he perceive the Snake to be
                            His enemy?
The Wasp, whose motive never was revealed,
          Lit on the Serpent’s head and stung
                             Repeatedly,
          His victim coiled, uncoiled, recoiled
                             In agony.
Stabbing at the world his double tongue.

No longer willing to bear the pain, he thrust
His head beneath the wheel of a passing cart
         And crushed the Wasp into the dust
         And stilled his own unshriven heart.

                           Moral.
They will not let us be, those episodes
We cannot unremember or deny;
They pierce like bitter knives, the words and deeds
That scar our souls until we die.