Serpents

”you’ve changed”

And isn’t that a good thing!

Hashtag blessed

The old you had some pieces to shed

Some pieces to put to death

Some pieces you never want to see again

Did it hurt

When you put in the work

To shelf every piece of self

That no longer served the you you wished to be?

Did it hurt when you sloughed off those unwanted layers,

Did it hurt when you twitched and shirked and wiggled your way out of that confinement

Out of the skin that no longer fit?

Was there any ache at all when you peeled those scales like a glove,

Did it sting when you cast them away?

Whether or not it hurt, you did put in the work

And it could not have been easy to tear your bad habits out by their roots

But…

But were they ever really killed?

Those old bits and pieces?

That you outgrew?

That you discarded?

That you eschewed?

I think you should have stared

At the pieces

You should have taken them under a microscope and given them every scrutiny

To see

If by chance

Any of your demons could still squirm

You’ve heard it said: old habits die hard

Usually they don’t die at all

And if the wrong scrap of root remains,

Buried in your psyche

Those habits can spring back to life

Again

As though they never left

Because they were only ever subdued

Not

Truly

Eradicated

When you tried to put them to death all you did was put them to bed

And now, they are serpents, coiled at your heel

Less dormant than you would hope

Less dormant than you would believe

They creep and slither,

Like vines with fangs

They stalk your every move

Waiting for a misstep

Waiting for the slip of your fleshy heel,

A soft, exposed place

A weak moment for them to sink their teeth into

Anger

Greed

Lust

Addiction

Whatever your defeated habits

Whatever they may be

They are still there waiting

Right behind you

Ready to reclaim their old strength

Right within you

Waiting

Simply waiting

For that old, familiar chance to strike