The New Ssstudent
Slithering, whispering
A snake came to class
Brightly glittering
Its scales like glass
Short, thick body
Banded with grey
Wiggling lure tail
Tempting for prey.
Terrible, horrible
It gave us a turn
But Mrs MacWinkle
Said, ‘It may wish to learn.’
Snake failed English
Again and again;
Snakes are not built
For holding a pen.
Snake could not learn
To decipher a map,
Of history and science
It knew not a scrap.
But to our surprise
That snake was able
To complete with a snap
The seven times table.
At sums and fractions
It couldn’t be greater:
Its mind was just like
The best calculator.
When we realised the truth
We could hardly be gladder:
Mathematics comes easy
When you are an adder.
Jessica Nelson
- Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #4
Jessica Nelson-Tyers 