Water moccasin along lower Apalachicola River with tan stain from river mud, by Doug Alderson
By Anonymous
Serpentine dread
In ebb-tide marsh,
Swamp-forest thicket
And the collard patch
Behind the shed,
Stalking
Yet stalked
By the conceit of concrete
Hardening its diminishing realm
Of halcyon paradise:
Emerald frogs, silver fishes
And a spider’s golden thread.
Where spirit voices
Of covert waters and wood
Breathe heated life
Of primal need.
Coil of life,
Coil of death,
Venom to fade day
Into velvet night.
Yet,
To vilify the viper’s strike
Is to vilify the blackbird’s night-song,
The dragonfly’s jeweled flight
Or the warmth of summer soil,
Each a harmonious note
In the Godly hymn of life.
Click here for more information about the water moccasin and how to distinguish it from other water snakes.