I HATE SNAKES – A Poem

(Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)

I HATE SNAKES

by Dawn Pisturino

Don’t go into the swamp!

But we ignored them,

For we were great explorers,

Hunting for lost civilizations

And buried treasure

In the deepest jungles of Africa.

We plowed through the snake grass,

Climbed over rotting tree trunks,

Hung from wild grape vines,

Chattering like monkeys.

And we never considered the dangers

Lurking in our “jungle.”

The old summerhouse lay hidden

Among tangled green bushes

And thorn-studded berry brambles,

Overlooking the banks of the St. Joseph River.

I pushed open the creaky door to look inside

And froze in shock at what I saw:

Slithering, crawling, scaly snakes

Formed a moving carpet on the floor,

Entwining in an intimate embrace,

Lying together in a clump of shimmering bodies,

Moving slowly and surely in the rotten shadows.

We beat a hasty retreat

And never visited our “jungle” again.

And that’s why, even today,

I HATE SNAKES!

Published in Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (2023), available on Amazon.com.

~

Dawn Pisturino

February 6, 2023

Copyright 2023 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (2023)

Co-Author, 2023 Arizona Literary Magazine (2022)

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (2022)

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