Serpent

I thought I’d make a little snake
A prop for our Schools project,
Two metres of fabric should be enough
To cut out the serpent shape.

I thought about how best to cut
Diagonal, or on the straight,
Then I decided that the coiled look
Really would look great.

Fabric folded in half, on the floor I bent
To mark and pin the outline,
Round and round with scissors I went
In an ever decreasing circle.

I made a hooded Cobra head
At the other end a Rattlers tail,
Long forked tongue and eyes of red
And banding like a Coral snake.

I pinned and stitched the serpent
And turned it inside out,
Then filled it with the stuffing
From old pillows I’d not thrown out.

My ‘little’ snake is now so long
He measures twentythree feet,
He just growed and growed –
I wonder – just where did I go wrong.

When he appears on the stage
Poor Eve just might take fright,
The children will yell with sheer delight
If their teachers all take flight!


Jackie S Brooks ©
16 September 2003