Featured Poem: Mr. Rattlesnake

People can be likened to all kinds of things. Whether we shed a positive or negative light on the people around us can depend on the experiences we have had in their presence, and this can affect how we would describe that person if anybody were to ask us. In Mr. Rattlesnake, genocideforjenny describes a wonderfully-written exchange of sorts between the narrator and a person described only as a rattlesnake. I caught up with the author to learn a little bit more about this intriguing poem!

Give us a quick summary of Mr. Rattlesnake.

Mr. Rattlesnake is about someone I would very much like to see in another life if there is one, no matter how deadly he could be to me, I guess wanting to be anything just to be wanted by him.

What is the inspiration behind this poem?

The inspiration? Well, I'm from Texas, and there's quite a few rattlers out by where I live right now, or was at least earlier in the season; I guess it just sort of fit in my head.

How did you choose the title for it?

Mr. Rattlesnake as a title was the only thing that sounded right, seeing as I address him as Mr. Rattlesnake in the first line of the poem.

What was your favourite thing about writing Mr. Rattlesnake?

My favourite thing about writing Mr. Rattlesnake, is that (to myself) it just sounded out the right amount of twisted desperation and self-destruction and I guess that will always somehow make me feel accomplished, you know, when your poem sounds exactly how you wanted it to sound? I hope that makes sense.

Do you have any writing rituals that you follow when writing poems?

Do I have any rituals that I follow when I write poems? None that I have ever noted other than that sometimes I'll just jot down ideas and sometimes they flow all at once, and just come to me for what I feel is a fitting poem, then sometimes I'm just jotting down ideas and coming back to them later with more as they come.

What do you look for when reading works by other site members?

When I read other works by other site members, I don't really know of anything particular that I look for unless I'm checking tags. Sometimes if the title pops out to me and sounds promising, I click? Haha, I'm sorry I've never thought any of this through.

Is there anything you would like to say to anybody that reads your poems?

I can't think of anything to say but thank you to those who take the time to even check my stuff out.

Finally, do you have any other poems that you think people would enjoy?

Do I have any other poems I think people would enjoy? Perhaps- at least I hope so. Not everything I post sounds perfect even to me, but I really liked (not to toot my own horn) Dormant and Voids of Enchantment.

Special thanks to losing control. and Audrey T for editing!

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