Little Green Snake

Little Green Snake
Sunning yourself
Along the sandy
Forest trail,
Drunk with sunshine,
Hot, warm, happy.

I see
Little Green Snake,
Bright Colors,
Small head,
Long Green Body,
And flickering tongue.

And cannot resist:
A touch.

Little Green Snake
How soft your tail is!
And your tongue flickers
Tasting me
In the breeze.

Little Green Snake,
Colis, S-Like
At my touch;
And away I pull
My curious hands.

And Little Green Snake,
Calms down,
Body long again,
Tongue out,
Smelling the world.

And yet,
Little Green Snake
Looks so little,
Cute,
Snake-like,
To my Human Eyes.
A second touch?

Resist, I cannot.

I lean over
To pet
Little Green Snake.

Little Green Snake
Is Not happy.

Little Green Snake
Coils together,
And upwards he springs.

And I jump!
And I scream.
And I dance my feet,
In the white-sandy path,
Away from Little Green Snake's jaws,
Nipping at my heels.

And I decide
NOT
To touch Little Green Snake
Anymore.

Good bye Little Green Snake.
Sorry for making
You Mad.
But thanks for
Making ME realize,
I can now
Jump.

Quickly!


True story, accurate account of my trail walk through the woods of UWF today. I thought that the recent cold snap was enough to keep the snakes - and perhaps alligators? - at bay for a little while.

But I was oh-so-wrong.

Moral of the story: Don't pull a Jeff Corwin and try to pet wild animals. At least my reaction time is fast! AND, I can laugh at myself. After the fact.

And what do you know? I can jump pretty good too. That snake was fast! But it was a harmless garden snake, bright green, with no poison sacks. Believe me - I have no interest in petting a poisonous snake. I draw the line somewhere!

So, next time you're walking through the woods, make sure you have a great reaction time to sudden movements. Or better yet, don't pet strange snakes!