Lora Law

 Of Grace and rat snakes

John Clare Stokes

Lora Law when she was small

Would spend her summers with

Granny Grace in the country

Lora Law was deathly afraid

Of anything that slithered or

Made a hissing sound

And would run crying inside

To Granny Grace quietly 

Rocking watching

She tried to show Lora Law

From the old family bible

How Jesus had removed

The enmity on the cross

How he was the serpent

Lifted up to look to Him

And live

But it never sank in

And Lora Law went on to

Have children 

And by then Granny Grace

Was in glory

And they ran screaming 

Inside 

Upon seeing the 

poor old rat snake

That lived quietly

In the shed

Until Lora Law

Sent poor Paul in

With a spade.