Hunting Snake -Judith Wright

Hunting Snake

-Judith Wright The poet and the text :

judith Arundell Wright (1 915-2000) was an Australian poet and enwronmentalisc Among several collections of her poetry, the most notable are The Moving Image, Woman to Man, The Gateway and many more. ,

The following poem describes the poet’s experience of watéhing a black snake as it makes its way across an area of grassland The poet looks on, fascinated as the snake hunts for food and finally disappears.

Sun-warmed in the late season’s grace under the autumn’s gentlest sky

we walked and froze half-through a pace. The great black snake went reeling by.

Head down, tongue flickering on the trail He quested through the parting grass. Sun glazed his curves of diamond scale

And we lost breath to see him pass.

What track he followed, what small food 'Fled living from his fierce intent, we scarcely thought; still as we stood our eyes went with him as he went.

Cold, dark and splendid he was gone Into the grass that hid his prey. We took a deeper breath of day,

Looked at each other, and went on.