597.9 is the Dewey classification number for reptiles. The Garter snake in the picture is one that was in a patch of daylilies outside the library a few years back. It was about 2 feet long. But, as the haiku suggests, "more than one" snake has visited us--we've had several Eastern Hognose snakes INSIDE the library! I have no idea why or how they came to be inside, but we carefully moved them out. They were only pencil-sized, but some people don't seem to appreciate snakes in the library no matter how cute and tiny! It turns out, Eastern Hognose snakes are endangered.
I've written snake haiku before--everything is fair game for haiku--and other poems about snakes, too!
May 2009
street fair
...the snake's pattern
arresting
June 2010 (Snake isn't mentioned, but it is what inspired me to write the following, which I originally illustrated, but requires more work before being ready to post.)
out for a walk
the women's chatter
suddenly stops
November 2013 (Ekphrastic poem.)
Mr. Klimt's Garden
Hens like little soldiers patrol
its path always on the lookout
for a weevil to swallow whole.
Or a snake. Chuck, chuck,
chuck, chuck. They strut plucking
at weeds between the daisies.
They look up at the towering
hollyhocks, ignorant to the fact
that spores of rust are in the wind.
One day soon the gardener
will tear out the infected plants
and the hens will be soup.
March 2014 (One of my "rant" poems!)
Poems and haiga © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.
Amy at The Poem Farm will be playing host to the Poetry Friday Round-Up. Please stop by!
Oh, I think those snakes and their call numbers are grand in the library! You make me think about a few weeks ago, when I was teaching a class in a library, and a chipmunk darted by. The whole world became about that little guy for a moment, and we got him out. So funny! My husband, a science teacher, has a class snake, and when it gets out...they work to find him very quickly. :) This ku-dos project is so cool. Happy Poetry Friday! xo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy! The Ku-dos project is ongoing, so stop by again.
DeleteThere is something so arresting about a snake. I enjoyed your smorgasbord of snake poems today. I'm glad you were able to get the wee endangered ones out of the library safely!
ReplyDeleteWho would have thought snakes could even make their way into a library?
DeleteSnakes in the library! I admit I would find even the tiny ones scary. Love your snake-y poems, and the Dickinson one is new to me.
ReplyDeleteThey move really fast, so, I imagine they'd be out of sight before you even had time to get scared!
DeleteLove that you connected to the Dewey Decimal System-delightful, Diane. I've never had a snake in my house, but birds & squirrels more than once. I love your words about stopping the ladies' chatter.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda! Dewey still lives in my library, although some libraries are moving to other systems like BISAC (in my opinion just substituting one complex system for another). Is NAT028000 really going to be better than 597.9?
DeleteI think Dewey would make a good name for that snake,no? I really liked Mr. Klimt's Garden, but such a sad ending. C'est la vie.
ReplyDeleteWhat's really sad is that Klimt's painting, "Garden Path with Chickens" was destroyed by the Nazis!
DeleteOh. Crap. :(
DeleteI believe it was burned. I found the picture online, then I read about it and nearly cried.
DeleteA library poem about snakes! Love it. Kids may just remember where to find there favorite animal group after reading this!
ReplyDeleteKids are fascinated by snakes, but most of them don't like to get too close!
DeleteYour Ku-do made me snort!
ReplyDeleteI'm remembering a school library aid with such a phobia of snakes that she couldn't handle books with snake pictures on the cover and would call me in to help her when she had to prep them for circulation.
Our nonfiction cataloger has a similiar response to incoming snake books!
DeleteI love this. Makes one wonder if there are snakes beyond 579.9.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they're in QL666.O6 (LC classification).
DeleteLove these, Diane! Grey found a baby Eastern Milk Snake the other day, but it was too tiny & quick for me to catch. I love snakes, but even I wouldn't want one in the library!
ReplyDelete