Garden Snakes


He must be a boy,
For his passions burst upon you,
Like a super nova,
Setting afire and melting,
All who draw near him,

Wearing them thin with his white hot anger,
And scathing words,
Seeking not to bring peace,
But carve his truth upon their souls,
For all to see and believe…

This boy,
Who I came to know and love,
As a dear and troubled friend,
His life an agony filled with such hate,
I tried to teach him how to bend,
To look another way,
But his poison leaked into me,
And I am sick today…

Grandfather says,
“You have harbored the snake,
And it has bitten you,
Now what is it you need to do?”
Wise old man he always was,
And I learn from all he does…

But the snake was so pretty I tell him,
So smooth and silky soft,
I wanted to watch it molt,
Shed its skin,
And begin anew…

But wise old elder tells me true ,
“Doesn’t matter that the skin is new,
Its soul is still the snake you knew.
Now what is it that you need to do?”

How deeply I wept such tears of dread,
And drew my knife
For the wound needed to be bled-

Cut and sucked the poison from my soul,
Let the evil drain so I could forget what I know,
But the secret of the snake lies in me still,
For his poison was an evil that nearly drilled,
Into the deepest part of me,
But my eyes are open and now I see,
The secret of the snake is no longer a mystery,
It follows the course of nature only,
Doesn’t matter that I was lonely,

Seeking a friend among you all…
I took the snake and set it beyond my garden wall,
Watched as it slithered away,
Knowing it would be back someday,
But I am ready now and know what I must do-

Grandfather whispers;
“Reindeer it can never be true to you,
It is Te me chaw,
And only being true to its form…”
But in my heart there gathers a storm,
Wave after wave of sweet regret,
Knowing that I must somehow forget,
The dream of harboring this snake,
Within my garden gate…