Her name

is

Serpentine,

and no,

I don’t 

really

know her.

She’s a woman now,

having 

outlived

much of 

this story when

she

was 

a child.

Serpentine:

gifted,

smart,

athletic,

and a

good human,

with a badly

curved spine.

Serpentine with

parents

who simply 

said:

“Not on our watch.”

Serpentine

who travelled

to 

a foreign 

country

“to get stuff

done.”

Serpentine 

who simply

forgot

that one

has to be

limited

by

any opinion

other than

one’s own.

So perhaps

there’s

a little

serpentine

in all

of us,

if only

we take

time

to

nurture

that brave

and 

determined

soul.

~Lu