In The Jungle Poem by Corina Vitale

The rain falls from the mouth of a green snake.
I peek around the closest patch of jungle,
I must protect my child from ravenous mouths.
I sense the hot sticky breath of a predator.
The mud curls around my legs as I wait,
Listening.
The smell of the plants swims lazily toward my nostrils.
Then my baby and I hear the snarls of an unfriendly animal.
We leap forward just escaping our doom
The chase is on!
I push my child forward trying to get her out of sight.
I’m sliding around every corner,
Slipping and falling on my face.
I slide against the fence.
Larissa and Thora attack without mercy,
While Lauren and I are smashed into the mud.
Then my father turns off the hose.
The tomato plants steam in the hot sun.