A Narrow Fellow in the Grass

A narrow fellow in the grass
I saw him there in scaly gleam
and slither as he tried to pass
for his escape but, in my dream,
a patch of green upon my arse!

[I once read a poem by Emily Dickinson, “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass”. It took me a little time to work out it is probably about a snake, or similar creature. My little offering sort of ‘has a dialogue’ with her poem in that it concludes with an attempt to catch a snake that is awake. I don’t know whether you’ve ever tried, but I imagine it usually ends up in failure and making a fool of yourself, on your backside; hence the last line!]

(view the author’s full commentary on this poem)