The Devil in the Details

Slow, old python of my Everglades,
he astutely picks where he invades:
data dumps; the depths of lower courts;
knotted weeds in annual reports.

Rounded figures fail to square; a will
screws the worthy with a codicil.
Minds don’t meet as handshake deals unravel.
Lawyered butchers walk; accountants cavil.

Hear him honing clauses. Hear his hiss
polish premises and promises.
Check what he has brushed.

Sly visits leave
parasites no handlers perceive:
propositions snaking through the skin
set to spawn in pustules of fresh sin.