I HATE SNAKES

 

(Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)

I HATE SNAKES

by Dawn Pisturino

Don't go into the swamp!

But we ignored them, 

For we were great explorers, 

Hunting for lost civilizations

And buried treasure

In the deepest jungles of Africa.

We plowed through the snake grass,

Climbed over rotting tree trunks,

Hung from wild grape vines,

Chattering like monkeys.

And we never considered the dangers

Lurking in our "jungle."

The old summerhouse lay hidden

Among tangled green bushes

And thorn-studded berry brambles,

Overlooking the banks of the St. Joseph River.

I pushed open the creaky door to look inside

And froze in shock at what I saw:

Slithering, crawling, scaly snakes

Formed a moving carpet on the floor,

Entwining in an intimate embrace,

Lying together in a clump of shimmering bodies,

Moving slowly and surely in the rotten shadows.

We beat a hasty retreat

And never visited our "jungle" again.

And that's why, even today,

I HATE SNAKES!

Published in Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology, January 2023.

BIO:

Dawn Pisturino is a retired nurse in Arizona whose publishing credits include poems, limericks, short stories, and articles. Her poetry has appeared in these anthologies: World Poetry Anthology, 1987; Best New Poems of 1988; Great Poems of Today, 1987; New American Poetry Anthology, 1988; National Poetry Anthology, 1988; American Poetry Anthology, 1988; Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women, 2022, and Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology, 2023. In 2007, she had her own health and wellness column in the Kingman Daily Miner and published articles in The Standard and the Bullhead City Bee. Her poems, limericks, short stories, and articles have appeared in MasticadoresUSA, MasticadoresIndia, Gobblers & Masticadores, Spillwords Press, Underneath the Juniper Tree, Brooklyn Voice, Danse Macabre du Jour, Psychic Magic Ezine, Working Writer, and others.  She has several novels in progress. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Arizona Authors Association, and the Black List.

Author website: www.dawnpisturino.org

Author blog: www.dawnpisturino.wordpress.com

The Listener

 

(Photo by Markus Spiske, Unsplash)

The Listener

by Dawn Pisturino

As a small child,

I lay in my small bed,

Listening to the mourning doves

Crying softly, "Coo-hoo! Coo-hoo!"

From the woods across the road

In the early morning light.

At night, the owls called to me --

"Who's there? Who's there?" --

A comforting lullaby that

Quieted my childish fears

And lulled me fast to sleep.

The thunder spoke to me

When the rain called my name,

Throwing his fierce lightning bolts

Across the black, menacing sky.

And when the storm passed away,

A hungry mosquito berated me,

Demanding a bloody feast.

~

The world is not a silent place,

Nor a place of peace.

~

As I grew,

The sounds of life grew louder:

Crashing metal when a truck turned over on the icy road.

My mother screaming,

My father shouting,

Then silence. . . when the unknown driver breathed no more.

Published in Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (2023), a #1 Amazon bestseller.