I Am Mwani
by Randy D. Rubin
Father! Oh, Mother! I should have listened.
I thought it was a rotted log in the tall grass. It is too late!
I am Mwani, Princess of the Ktubu!
My father is a great warrior and chief. He will come… to save… me.
It squeezes my legs, my stomach, my chest. Coils wrap around me and squeeze
my arms… my ribs crack and squeeze me tighter. No breath, no neck now.
My eyes bulge… blessed blindness. Jaws unhinge for me. My head rests on the pillow of its throat.
I was Mwani… father… mother… I am eaten.
