Why I Killed A Snake on Purpose Without Meaning To, poetry by Mary Sayler at Spillwords.com

Why I Killed A Snake on Purpose Without Meaning To

Why I Killed A Snake on Purpose Without Meaning To

written by: Mary Sayler

@MaryHSayler

 

Tree pruners in hand, I headed for a small branch
tightly wrapped in woody vine.
I whacked,
and the vine began to move.

At the sight of the triangular-shaped head, the split
of the long thin tongue,
I hollered.

My husband came with clippers as the long body
of a rattle snake writhed around, and I said,
“Hold this.”

Handing him the long-handled shears with snake
still attached, I took the dull clippers and aimed
for the head.

We couldn’t let it go, and so, I whacked – again
and again until the head went limp and the wagging
tongue stopped.

Dead.

The head fell to the ground, and my husband tossed
the still wiggling body over our fence, an accomplice
now to murder.

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