snake in the garden: some reflections on predation

	a garden snake slides smoothly
	over a pair of twisted zucchinis
	between rows of dark, ripening tomatoes
	straight towards a bulging eggplant

	ignoring the fading dahlias and
	discarded soda can at its side
	it pauses
	flicking its forked tongue in and out
	keenly sensing the spring air

	knowing instinctively
	where opportunities lie
	it inches forward cautiously
	slowly approaching
	an unsuspecting prey

	like a skilled ninja
	it becomes motionless
	until in an instant
	that is shorter than an eye blink,
	a fat grasshopper
	munching atop
	an eggplant leaf
	finds to its surprise
	that existence is very brief . . .


=====================================================================================
from How Weird: Out of the Box of Expectations by T Newfields
Summary: A detailed description of a garden snake hunting for an insect.
Keywords: garden snakes, predation, zoological sketches, biological food chains

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955 - ?)
Begun: 2006 in Tokyo, Japan   ☆ Finished: 2019 in Yokohama, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

< LAST   http://www.tnewfields.info/HowWeird/labels.htm
  TOC    http://www.tnewfields.info/HowWeird/index.html
  NEXT > http://www.tnewfields.info/HowWeird/grain.htm

TRANSLATIONS

Spanish:  http://www.tnewfields.info/es/serpiente.htm
Japanese:  http://www.tnewfields.info/jp/hebi.htm
French: http://www.tnewfields.info/fr/serpent.htm