Sunday, May 25, 2014

The Bard of Woodstock

Who says a sonnet has to be about a fair mistress or a dying flame? Ron Smith's poem "Snake vs. Rat" shows that any subject may be sonnet-worthy.



Snake vs. Rat

 

            New green clothes branches – shy wildflowers blaze

A snake twists cross a bridge in early sun

            A rat, swift from the shadows sniffs and plays

The serpent regards rat and points like gun

 

            Aware not of the coiling foe ahead

The rat looks side to side, then starts across

            On tiny feet the rodent swiftly sped

Crouched low, the reptile blending with dark moss

 

            Too late, the rat perceived the hungry leer

The snake had not a meal for many days

            NO mercy now, the rat with frozen fear

The law is kill or die, has been always

 

            Beside the bridge, a telltale lump, you know

Within the snake the rat begins to show.

 

—Ron Smith

No comments:

Post a Comment