Tag Archives: Snakes

Hisssstory

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Hisssstory

He oozed into the room with a sibilant sigh,
scraping up cobwebs as he slithered by.
The risks of survival for this little guy
I must admit would not be very high.
He’d end up on a spit or perhaps in a pie
if it weren’t for one factor, and I’ll tell you why.
This is where all of his courage must lie:
for if he embedded his fangs in your thigh,
you would have to act quickly or else you might die.
That’s why he is joyous though just an inch high,
and why he soars by with a gleam in his eye.

 

In case you are interested in what sort of snake this is, HERE is an earlier post I made about it. Thanks to Forgottenman for reminding me about it.

Prompt words for the day are sibilant, risk,joy, courage and survival.

Serpentine

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Last night I was talking to okcforgottenman in between posting pictures for the selfies prompt.  He first said it didn’t sound very much like a prompt I would pursue, then advised me on which pictures seemed too staged (Yes, I removed them), and in the end suggested I add the picture of my shadow on a beach studded with jellyfish.  That was a good suggestion and I posted my blog, then noticed that it was 3 a.m.!!!

This chain of events is not unusual, for I rarely try to go to sleep before 2 or 3 and sometimes even later (earlier?) but for some reason, I am always surprised at the hour.  I think I said something like, “How did it get to be 3 a.m.?”  Forgottenman answered, “Time is a snake,” and for once I was the one who said that would make a good prompt.  Of course he agreed and issued the challenge, so here is my poem on the subject, which is not at all as original as his, which I have read.  He’s now polishing it.  Well, actually, he’s now out mowing his lawn but thinking about polishing it.  I’ll give him 24 hours and then I’m posting with or without him.  It is 3:30 p.m., September 12, 2015.  I’m giving you fair warning, okcforgottenman!!!!

YaxchilanDivineSerpent
Yaxchilan Divine Serpent

Serpentine

Time is a snake coiled in the dark–
ready to strike, eyes on its mark.
In the sun of youth, the snake may laze
in torpor from the day’s long rays.

If it moves slowly you may not see
time progressing from A to Z,
but as you grow older, it builds up speed,
spurred onward by the urge to feed.

The snake uncoils and starts its race.
Sensing this, you join the chase.
Your goal is what you’re meant to do,
while the serpent’s goal is only you.

With luck, you are still in your prime
when you run your race pursued by time.
For later, fatigue stakes its coup
and you slow until time catches you.

Then it coils gently around your head
in hammock, easy chair or bed.
Its pulsing gyre steals you away–
that final price that life must pay.

See okcforgottenman’s poem written to this same prompt  HERE.

We invite you all to write to this same prompt.  If you do, please send a link to both of us!