Classic Poem

Old Rattler, we have known each other long—
Both natives of the arid Texas plains—
Where hate is hate, and friendship's ties are strong,
And red blood flows in every creature's veins.

In infancy I lay upon my bed
And did not fear that you would do me harm:
I saw you coiled, I saw your swaying head
And heard your buzzing rattles give alarm.

My father clipped your head off with his gun,
My mother pressed me to her, strangely pale,
He turned your shining belly to the sun
And cut the dozen rattles from your tail.

Old Rattler, it is part of Nature's plan
That I should grind you underneath my heel—
The age-old feud between the snake and man—
As Adam felt in Eden, I should feel.

And yet, Old Rattlesnake, I honor you;
You are a partner of the pioneer;
You claim your own, as you've a right to do—
This was your Eden—I intruded here.