Alligator Plans Arthur Gottlieb   Gottlieb Page 1 they hunt us nights to skin and tan our hides. those closest who rose to the bait of limelight never heard the crack of the high powered bullet blowing out the bulb of their brain. crouched in a knot of cypress knees, i loll in my succulent mudhole and keep my trap shut. someday human feet will wrinkle the swamp skin. i'll make my eyes innocent as bumps on a log. a misguided foot slogging the bog might mistake my back for a stepping stone. then i'll take that leg in its stride, all the while snout smiling, i'll nail my meal on the double cross of my teeth without even lifting a claw. Arthur Gottlieb is an Oregon poet with work appearing in such publications as the Chiron Review, The Pacific Review, The Alembic, and The Ledge.