Three Green Snakes Poem by Gert Strydom

I was gathering dead branches
and rotting leaves
and mowed down grass
and with my bare hands,
scooped it up
into a wheelbarrow.

From there I carted
it away to where,
a trailer attached
to my car waited.

The leaves and grass
felt humid and hot
in my hands
and a compost smell
hang in the air,
but suddenly three
deadly green snakes twisted
out where my hands
had been seconds before
and in dismay
I jumped away.

My little white dog
ran around the heap
of leaves and grass
and barked excitedly
and although did not
want to I had to
kill them all,
before they brought
death and trepidation
to my door.

The lawnmowers petrol
splashed like water
down on the brown heap
and a match,
flicked onto it
made bright orange flames
leap into the air.

Suddenly three snakes
twisted in agony
and it was like
driving the gods
of the dark earth away
and although every thing
was well,
it was quite sad
to kill three living creatures
with the flick
of a match.

[Petrol= gasoline.]