Padraig’s Snake

What if
a green snake
has lived in
the green grass all these years,
        despite changes
         to climate,
                     hidden
             in the richness
       of its own colour,
even when
famine struck?

Emerald,
undulating
        and coiling
         but never striking,
         living its best life
              while Paddy
                is celebrated –
                          he didn’t do
                          a proper job.

Perhaps he knew,
thought he’d test faith,
          spice up mythology
          and give himself a pat on the back.
Maybe he was himself a bit of a snake.

Kim M. Russell, 17th March 2026

Image by Allec Gomes on Unsplash

It’s 17th March, St Patrick’s Day and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, Lisa is hosting Poetics with Irish blessings.

Lisa has given us some background to Paddy’s Day fact and fiction, and symbolism.

Our challenge is to choose any image, object, song, or concept from the prompt and use it to inspire a poem.

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