John the Snake Man

A hearer of snakes he is.
A bringer of snakes, they hear him.
Without a call, they hear him other ways,
and come. It is an old passage they take
to him older than him than any of us.
They never lose their way.

Pure hearts attract the lowliest.
This is as it has been, as it should be.
Those on their bellies know pure hearts,
those scaly to the touch,
those cast off.

His is a valiant chest, too,
deep with a man’s honor. It has taken
a brave thumping,
and the snakes come.

I joined with him way back then.
It was a clear call to me, and so
I see the snakes come that
pay me no mind, for they come
to him.