I visit Epidauros
for the temple and pay
the costs at the gate
Here the father of Health
heals people, a snake eats
from the bowl in her hand
I get a seat in the court
and a cup of herbal drink
Half asleep I see a snake
coming out of the temple
I feel it licking my toe
but I dream
of a young man
gently applying ointment
on the sore, that torments me
I receive a rod and
the spirit of the snake
winds around it
young in a new skin