Who doesn’t think that poetry and snakes work well together? Not us, which is the reason for these snake poems.
Snakes are deeply symbolic and can represent a wide variety of mythological images, ranging from fertility to rebirth. There’s the evil serpent from the garden of eden, but there’s also the Caduceus which represents healing. Snakes are perfect for metaphors, just ask Freud what he thought of snakes! Here are two original snake poems that you will find only on Shadow of Iris.
Snakes, a poem
by Paul Bearer
Snakes,
snakes with slick black bodies
that move up rough cement walls
in zigzag patterns
that your mind cannot ever hold.
An old man with a sun roughed skin
and eyes like slits
tells you it’s bad luck
to kill a snake like that,
so he shuffles it off the road
and into his neighbor’s yard
Snakes,
little snakes with beady eyes
that cannot possibly be real
that park themselves on slender branches,
just outside your bedroom window.
There’s one that’s there all day,
that little snake, staring in at you,
never moving a centimeter,
never even winking,
what he wants, you’ll never know—
he’s gone the next day.
Snakes that sleek under your lounge chair
while you lay in the sun by the pool—
a long, black snake
that likes the sun as much as you.
You won’t know he’s there
until you get up
and startle him away—
he more scared than you.
Snakes,
snakes so long
that they halt you on your bicycle
in that damp, dark, narrow tunnel
that runs under the free way—
a passing farmer on foot
tells you not to worry,
a snake like that is a good omen—
so he says.
I dream of a snake,
a rainbow snake,
with a pattern so intricate,
it is a dance of rainbow colors—
snakes on snakes
twirling in my head
and up my back
until I wake with a start
and a gasp.
The Tree of Snakes, a poem
by Polly Morphus
The tall teal tree glowed
with an assortment of fruit
each giving off light
in the pitch black night.
There were shimmering, shimmying snakes
that entwined themselves
around slender long branches
and there were slow twirling leaves
that gleamed in strange twists
of violet and sapphire.
At the very center of the tree
you could find a dark opening
surrounded by ancient archaic writing,
and if you neared it you could hear
murmurings,
chatter from centuries ago,
all the world’s secrets,
every bit of gossip ever whispered
in someone else’s ear.
The snake winds through grass
each blade a rippling coil;
the mouse sees nothing.
—Mamushi
Snakes hide in the grass,
but we hide in our lies.
—anonymous proverb
We hope you enjoyed these looping snake poems. We hope we’ve inspired you to write your own serpent sonnets or maybe some viper verse, you could even try some rattler rhymes!
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