If you weren't afraid, you would kill him!

SNAKE - In this poem, Lawrence gives himself the role of an extremely thirsty man who goes down to his water-trough in his pyjamas to fetch himself a pitcher full of water on a hot, hot day. The poem is then made slightly more exhilarating when Lawrence tells us how a snake got there before him and starts quenching it's own thirst.

Now, Lawrence starts getting fascinated with the snake and dreamily watches it have a hearty drink. But he soon realizes that the snake is venomous. Now his conscience comes into play. One part of him says "KILL THE DARN CREATURE, DAG NABBIT! KILL IT!", whereas the other says, "No way, Jose. I wish to watch him and talk to him. I absolutely mustn't kill him."*

One notices that Lawrence has formed a strong bond with the snake in a short period of time. He has created a bond with something that, according to many people, signifies evil - a snake. That apparently does not bother him. He shows us contrariness. He fights off the urge to kill the snake. He wants his friend to live. This also answers the question of why Lawrence dared not kill the snake - it was like his friend, his temporary companion. And anyone turns into a coward when a voice inside them forces them to kill their friend, or anyone near to them for that matter.

However, even after all the above, one question remains unanswered - Why does he do it? Why does Lawrence attempt to kill the snake? After all, it was his friend. There can be only one reason as well...the pressure applied upon him - by his inner-voice - told. The perversity gave way and Lawrence chucked the hefty log at the snake. A factor that strengthened his inner-voice could be that when he saw his friend turn his back on him, he perhaps had a tiny feeling of being left alone or of being betrayed which made the pressure greater.

The snake signifies erm...can't find the word...something that comes and goes quickly but messes up your emotions. It could be something like...for example, a pager message informing you of your friend's death. Never mind, it's hard to explain.

Now it's over. So turn off your computer and go to bed.

*At this point one can't help but notice two random things about Lawrence. One, Lawrence doesn't have many friends. Two, he doesn't have a TV or a phone. Hehehehhh...sorry.