In May, the author tells of his/her chance encounter with a http://academic-help739501.mystrikingly.com copperhead on the road one night as it lay “golden under the street lamp,� silent and tense and fearless. Having long wanted to see one, he/she kneels down transfixed, fascinated by its lethal grace, its being unlike the common black and green and garter snakes that evince only shyness; here is a real death striker within arm’s reach. The author remembers not its distinct markings or size or other physical characterstic other than the fact that its head is “wedge-shaped and fell back to the unexpected slimness of a neck,� its body “thick, tense and electric.� He/she moves a little, catching the creature’s attention; it jerks as if to attack, and he/she jumps back. The snake flows “on across the road and down into the dark,� leaving him/her alone to contemplate the woods and the stars.Only a reptile, but what feelings it does evoke! Meeting the copperhead is an exciting experience that leaves one more capable of appreciating life.
