Robert McAdams
Rattlesnake
He takes the rattle from the baby.
He cannot stand the noise.
He would have rather given building blocks--
Less annoying toys.
The baby starts to cry
Because she wants to have it back
To hear the rattle shake.
The rattlesnake is ready to attack.
The baby is too little--the snake will strike another.
Fists stike bone and blood is drawn from the shattered face
Of the mother.
The woman is down and bleeding,
The infant crying louder.
The rattlesnake seeks escape
In the venom and the powder.
Then emptiness within him
Numbs the beating in his head.
A small hand grips the barrel
Of the gun beside the bed.
The venom and the powder
Numb the beating in his head.
A shotgun blast completes it,
And the rattlesnake is dead.