The Rainbow Serpent

From the middle of the earth
Crawled the rainbow serpent
All strong and mighty
Breathing fire and creation dreams
Until he took a wrong turn
And found himself
Headed up a skinny pipe
All dark and cold steel
Gurgling and clanging

Into my kitchen

And out popped his head
From a metal sink
Amidst banana peel and plastic tubs
And a water dripping from
A leaky tap

“Why hello there,” I said
Tweaking my glasses

He breathed a cloud of fire
Eyes rolling in their orbit
“Where am I?” he asked

Not knowing the answer
To a question bigger than I
I offered him a sandwich
Out of the fridge
Now toasted by the vapour of his flames
And a bit stale

Which he rolled up on his sticky tongue
And spat out on the floor

He then asked me for water
From the leaky tap
Which then I turned on
So the water ran down his face and
Into his eyes and
Down his throat and
Dribbled out of his horns

Let me take you home, I said

Leaning over the serpent
I held his hand and guided him down
The wormholes of the hot earth
Until he reached the centre
Where he was hatched
And grew
And grown
And must dwell now

I then thought of a dream
That started all dreams
Pulled it out of my eyes and gave it to him
And with that he knew
He was back home
For we all share this dream
Whether we know it or not
Which one day when we are lost
Will lead us home
To the middle of the earth