Sonnet-Who Am I? Poem by Dr John Celes

I am a linear, legless, Vertebrate;
Bellying the earth, ever since my birth;
Of varying sizes, colours, shapes; I mate,
And swallow whole, life many times my girth.

I writhe and snake my way up fast;
I am the 'Sentinel of Land and sea';
Most people look at me awe-struck, aghast;
I hiss and scurry forth frightened, may be.

My fangs are poison-filled and also not;
I scour the earth, listening to vibrations;
Most people hit my head with sticks when caught,
I'm King of Night's earth-holes of all nations.

But I'm a Snake! Oh, just a rubber-Snake!
For Heaven's sake, the beating all I take.