SNAKE POETRY

Snake

A real charmer they said but a slippery customer;

Hypnotic eyes hiding a venomous tongue.

I should have listened

He seems laid back but he’s ready to strike at speed;

You won’t know what’s hit you, they said.

I should have listened

Don’t be fooled by his affection, he’ll suffocate you

Crushing you tightly till you can’t breathe

I should have listened

But I love him, I said, and I know he loves me

I’d follow him to the ends of the earth

I won’t listen

He’s spellbinding, charming, attentive and fervent

But slippery, repellent and poisonous too

Snake! – I should have listened.

 © Kathleen Wratten

Viper, Viper

   Snake in the Grass

Bright beady eyes with never a blink
Muscular, lengthy and lean
Hypnotic stare, with no sign of a wink

Snake in the grass so green
Slithering down the slippery slope
Silently planning your fall
Disguising his form like the coils of a rope
Snake in the grass so tall

Watching, waiting like a fox in his lair
Poisonous fangs primed to kill
Sunk close to the ground, no sound in the air
Snake in the grass so still

Dark sparkling eye, beguiling and brown
Muscular lengthy and lean
Lips curled in a smile, no hint of a frown
Snake in the grass so green
Striding along, with a laugh and a joke
While silently planning your fall
Disguising dark thoughts in a jovial cloak

Snake in the grass so tall
A cunning deceiver, slimy evil false friend
His forked tongue ready to kill
His truth is a lie from beginning to end
Snake in the grass so still

© Jane Jones 2009 

I'M SORRY FOR THE SNAKE

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The poor old snake has been reviled since he met Eve and Adam,

From that day forward so it seems everyone's got at him.

His sight is poor, he cannot hear but he has no carbon footprint,

For he ripples along on all his ribs tasting with his tongue tip instinct.

The phrases we use to blacken his name must surely cause him pain,

From 'Snakes Alive!' and 'Snake -in-the-Grass' to the Snakes and Ladders game,

Where to climb a ladder is very good but to land on a snake is not,

While out among the Fakirs, cobras are kept in pots.

For the Medusa they became a hairstyle, for fashion we use their skins,

Making shoes, gloves and handbags plus many other useful things.

Cleopatra chose to hug an asp to end her wretched state,

But was she allowed take it with her through St.Peter's pearly gates?

Once I saw a Viper sleeping in the sun,

The marks upon his smooth coiled frame were elegantly spun.

God must have made this special form for us to treat with care,

For they are part of the universal plan and have a right to be here.

Jacqui Mount. ©

^{_{The Black Viper}}

Gaynor Cobb

Wei-yun, the Black Viper

Darkness at his heart ( that cold stone organ)

Man-snake, coiled to strike with no mercy.

Hate-driven in pursuit of power,

Controlling the world in misery.

Seemingly, no chink in his armour,

He casts off pain like a slothed skin.

                                       Wei-yun, the Black Viper

Stands tall in battle,

A golden snake on his shield.

He surveys the dead with satisfaction,

Looking for signs of life to extinguish.

Frozen in fear, the people wait,

Listening in the depths; hidden.

Wei-yun, the Black Viper

Rares up like a snake’s head,

Waiting to spring.

Sensing a challenge, his tongue flickers.

Through the gloom, a sword flashes,

Wei-yun advances, knife clasped.

Fangs bared, he is ready.

Wei-yun, the Black Viper,

Faces his opponent.

An angry stab meets flesh,

A body slumps in despair, the snake’s victory?

The sword raised in golden light

Held, strong before the boy’s face.

Michael, named for an archangel.

Michael, calling on his namesake,

Draws light with his sword.

Attacking with steel,

White, purple, turquoise,

A shower of sharp rays pierce the dark.

The viper’s face lit with fury,

A hiss of unknown pain, he is down.

Michael, the stranger,

Guided by Yeshe, the wise,

Had come to smite the serpent.

As in the garden of Eden,

The Black Viper lay grovelling.

Undead but defeated,

A statue in a painful pool of light.