Sentel Schreier

The Snake

What if I’m the snake in the garden?

The devil between my own two elbows?

Slithering around my psyche,

I tempt myself into self-fulfillment.

I eat the apple.

I kick myself out of Eden everyday.

I typically think I’m too good for it

— Too good for peace and quiet.

Outside the garden, I clothe myself with knowledge.

I see how naked I truly am,

How much more I will never know,

How many answers I can’t have.

The stupid snake inside me,

Will never stop hissing,

Will never stop searching for outward success – the secret knowledge of evil gods:

How to get peace without giving up pride.

But I’m shedding my skin, staying longer in Eden each day.

Slowly peeling off the pretty dead things in my life

That do not serve me.

I’m learning how to coexist with the snake inside,

Because it’s stuck with me,

and can’t slither away.

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3 responses to “The Snake”

  1. robertisveryonline Avatar
    robertisveryonline

    Author,

    I appreciate your insights. Perhaps the most difficult thing I experience is accepting my own fallibility and human-ness. This is what I read into your discussion here, and in previous poems. Thank you for writing these.

    Rob

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    1. poorgrammarblog Avatar
      poorgrammarblog

      Hello yes, that’s what I was getting at – not self loathing, but the struggle for self-acceptance. Likewise, it’s such a chore. I’ve been trying to accept that my intentions aren’t always good and not always bad, but maybe a bit of both, somewhere in between. And anywhere on that spectrum, I still can have grace and understanding. Thanks for your comment, Rob.

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    2. Sentel Schreier Avatar
      Sentel Schreier

      Hello yes, that’s what I was getting at – not self loathing, but the struggle for self-acceptance. Likewise, it’s such a chore. I’ve been trying to accept that my intentions aren’t always good and not always bad, but maybe a bit of both, somewhere in between. And anywhere on that spectrum, I still can have grace and understanding. Thanks for your comment, Rob.

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      Reply

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