Monday, May 25, 2009

Serpent



Bask in the rot
Of a heartbroken tree
Tickle the breeze
With tongue tasting V's
Bird keeps her children
Fluffed to her knees
Someone is coming
Smile prettily please




(Note: The second photo demonstrates the stunning skill of Aine with the camera! Pretty good, eh? I was busy. Holding the snake.)

23 comments:

Kriti said...

Snakes. Sheesh!!

Creepy crawly creatures.
I once stepped on one. It wasn't a good experieanc, at all!

How could you HOLD one?!?!

Kriti said...

experience*

Raj said...

u actually held one....i wud bolt....

Amritorupa Kanjilal said...

Jason, i loved your poem. i loved it very very much... i loved the image of a heartbroken tree, and the sinisterness of its inhabitant,and the panicking mother bird...

and while your affinity towards creepy crawlies never fails to amaze me, it looks like that snake is revelling in all the attention its getting from you and aine.

Catherine Vibert said...

Great shot Aine! Wow! Nice poem, I'd be scared too if I were a mama bird and that guy was near my brood.

the walking man said...

The words and pictures compliment each other very well.

Margaret said...

Loved your poem Jason and amazing pictures - compliments to Aine on the getting such a good shot on the 2nd pic.

I don't mind snakes, had a huge one around my neck once while in India.

Aniket Thakkar said...

Aine, Slytherins unite together? :D

I don't know whether am more ama-zzz-ed by Aine'sss ssssmashin photography or by the fact that you actually held thissss one.

I know people who have held pythonssss. Somehow they seem lessssss ssssscary to me than ssssmaller fasssster and more poissssonousss onessss.

Awe-sssss-ome!! :)

Sarah Hina said...

Beautiful verse, and awesome photos!! :)

I like the mix of sinister with whimsy here. Snakes inspire the willies, but also awe. Their stare is so primal, and yet they move with a particular grace all their own.

Good one!

(and nice parseltongue, Aniket :p)

Charles Gramlich said...

I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone rhyme "v's." Well done. I thought this was a lot of fun. I see a lot of snakes around our place.

Karen said...

Great pairing of verse and photos.As someone else said, the whimsy and danger are a great combination. Kudos to Aine for not bolting! I'd have been so out of there!!

Just curious - what kind of snake is it, Jason?

Linda S. Socha said...

YOu are a brave man! Aine should be given some special award...I am so cowardly about the s.. creatures....I think this was a good post Jason but I had to read very quickly to avoid looking!! Sorry Aine!!
Linda

Aine said...

LOL-- "stunning skill"....

All credit goes to the expert tutelage of the snake charmer and the wonders of automatic focus!
:)

But it was fun to get so up close and personal with Mr. Reptile.

And, Aniket, our youngest is the parselmouth in the family-- totally a Slytherin! Also, good point about smaller snakes-- Jason knows all about the striking speed of those little "black racers" that can be found in this area, too!
:)

Anonymous said...

Creation, stepping on a snake? Yikes. That's wouldn't be good, I agree.

Scarlet, welcome! Great to see you! I don't love holding snakes, but I will endure it for you guys. ;)

Little Girl Lost, thank you for the kind words on my poem! A little something more whimsical. (And I'll get you loving the creepy crawlies yet!)

Catvibe, Aine got some great focus and depth of field in that one! The head is just right. :)

Walking Man, I wanted to do a little forest children's verse with this one. The snake was kind to play along.

Margaret, just so those snakes around the neck don't squeeze! (I don't suppose there are any pictures of that!)

Aniket, your parseltongue is very impressive! I must be getting a little better at translating, because I could make most of that out. ;)

Sarah, you put that dichotomy I was going for into words perfectly! Thanks! Those baby birds will be safe for today.

Charles, you liked that highly literary rhyme, eh? LOL. :)

Karen, it's a brown garter snake. Not the kind with the two stripes down its back. The brown type seems to be more common in this forest. (We're giving you a close look so you can do it virtually and comfortably!)

Linda, that's okay. :) You can catch the words through the cracks in your fingers.

Aine, that black racer of which you speak had a really bad attitude.... The credit is rightly given here. I may have had a hand in setting up the camera, but you got the depth of field and focus just right!! And awesome timing on the tongue!

Margaret said...

Yes Jason, I do have a pic of it. It's a good few years back, so not digital. I'll search for it, get it scanned and post it. :D

Shadow said...

what a stunning poem about a creature i'm actually very very wary of.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

ooooh, I love the poem.
"bask in the rot"
"fluffed to her knees"
- great lines.

and I like all the long eeeeesssss!

Aine - you are so brave! Oh and while I have both you and Jason here...congratulations on your
17th anniversary. I wish you many more years of happiness together.

Anonymous said...

Margaret, ooh, I'm looking forward to it!!

Shadow, given how wary they are of us, this one was none too pleased about the encounter. ;)

Kaye, very good. :) You caught the rhyming snake sounds. And thank you so much for your anniversary wishes!!

SzélsőFa said...

I once almost stepped on a snake, when I went to pee in the wild during a hike. It was grey colored, sunbathing in the grey sand. I was told it was poisonous.
I kept my fluids after that incident to myself until we reached a safer place :D

Anonymous said...

I am thinking she is beautiful and a great shot captured.
Your words my kind, not too much to read but much to think about.

Vesper said...

Lovely poem to go with the beautiful photos...

Woman in a Window said...

Are you nuts? Let that thing go!

The language somehow seems low in this, all snake vantage. I like it but I'm lifting my feet from the floor right now.

Anonymous said...

Szelsofa, kept your fluids to yourself...loved that! Luckily, I've come across very few poisonous snakes. They aren't terribly common in the areas I've lived.

SarahA, I like making words work for their dinner. :)

Vesper, thanks!

Woman in the Window, low language...what a perfect description! Don't mind that tickling on your toes. ;)