A big ole snapper

in the middle of the road,

not Steinbeck’s

steady and determined

underdog, but mean,

hissing and chomping at us

on the warm asphalt.

Our good turn for the day,

we looped it with an

oily strap

from the trunk and

helped it across,

watched it turn around

and when we drove away

it headed back to its place in the sun.