POETRY
All that Glitters
“All that Glitters” read by John C. Mannone.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
— After Margaret Wolff Hungerford, Molly Bawn (1878)
Beauty is only skin deep
— Sir Thomas Overbury, “A Wife” (1613)
Snakes do not eat apples, nor covet them
yet the garter and rat snakes prey on rodents
in the orchards. A good thing. But not all
snakes, especially the beautifully adorned
ones in the garden or forest, are innocent.
The venomous cobra might mesmerize
its prey before striking with fang-filled
neurotoxins. Reticulated pythons, gorgeous
geometric patterns, and without an ounce
of venom, will ambush, squeeze the last
breath out of its meal.
But the most notorious serpent can shape-
shift, its coppery underbelly glittering
in the face of the sun. A magical enchanter
will hiss lies into your ears as you walk in
the lush garden. Nachash, is more beautiful
than any other, but do not be deceived,
it comes from a brood of vipers and will
certainly devour all your dreams.
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The title is from William Shakespeare’s quote, “All that glitters is not gold,” in The Merchant of Venice (1600)
John C. Mannone appears in North Dakota Quarterly, Poetry South, New England Journal of Medicine …. Awarded a Jean Ritchie Fellowship (2017) in Appalachian literature, his collections include Song of the Mountains (Middle Creek Publishing, 2023) and Sacred Flute (Iris Press, 2024). He’s a retired professor of physics in East Tennessee.
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Image: Rushen, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Modified by Veronica McDonald.
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