(a found poem, except for line 4)
When the rubber tree-tapper did not return,
her husband searched and found her sandals, jacket,
headscarf, and work tools.
This is not a metaphor for capitalism.
The following morning, villages spotted
a python with a swollen midsection nearby.
Reticulated pythons are the longest snakes
in the world. They climb trees by firmly wrapping
their bodies around the trunks and using
muscular upward force. Their jawbones are connected
by flexible ligaments so they can stretch around large prey.
The snake coils around the prey in a “hug of death.”
A human would breathe in but not be able to exhale.
Pythons typically eat rats and small animals but once they
reach a certain size, it’s almost like they don’t bother
with rats anymore because the calories aren’t worth it.
Cases of humans being swallowed are rare.
A far greater number or people are affected by snake bites.
Police say the entire process of swallowing the grandmother
alive must have taken more than two hours.
No one witnessed her being eaten.
The woman’s remains were found inside the snake largely intact.
Everyone was astonished by the discovery.