The Snake Poem was written by a poet who wishes for the snake to be reincarnated as a butterfly.
A poem posted on Twitter by actor and poet Jaden Smith has inspired an internet debate about what the snake in the poem wishes for. The poem, titled “The Snake Poem”, was written by Smith and shared on Twitter on October 28th. The poem’s author is unknown, but it is believed that Smith wrote it after seeing a tweet from poet Richard Blanco asking followers to share their favourite poems. Blanco’s tweet prompted many people to share their favourite poems, including Smith.
Smith’s poem reads:
“i wish you could see what i see
i wish you could be happy with me
i wish you could love me too”
“i wish you could see what i see” refers to how snakes are unable to perceive colour, which is something that most humans take for granted. This causes them to be more vulnerable than humans are because they can’t spot potential predators or prey as easily.
“i wish you could be happy with me” refers to how snakes are forced into captivity due to human fear of them. In reality, snakes aren’t interested in harming humans at all.
“i wish you could love me too” refers to how people tend not to trust snakes or think they’re cute, despite the fact that many people have positive feelings towards other animals such as cats and dogs.
