Mr. Rao was sitting in his front lawn
He looked dull and worried
'I haven't mowed for a month'
He said looking at the wild growth
The lawn with its grass blades
Some tall, some short looked to me
Beautiful in its randomness
'There is some odd grace
Even in indiscipline' I remarked
'There is a method in their madness'
I laughed and winked at him
He stared one long minute
At his beloved lawn and said
'Ever heard the idiom'
'….Snake in the grass! It was said
About the lurking dangers inside
Such unruly growth! Thanks
To the indolent masters'
He further cautioned, 'Walk over that ridge
Alongside the compound wall
And reach the verandah. God Knows!
Some serpent might have got alert
With our idiomatic talk,
I mean idiotic talk'
This time he laughed loudly
Starting towards him, I stopped suddenly
And turned back stating, 'I just remembered
I have to go to my office, I left a lot
To be mowed there. For too long
Indolent I have been'
sathya narayana
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/snake-in-the-grass-4/
