Rattlesnake

We kept the baby rattlesnake
In an aquarium
In the homemade bookshelf
Made of cinder blocks and wood planks

The baby rattlesnake learned
How to crawl up the side of the aquarium
And to get out
And to hide
In one of the holes in the cinder blocks
That held up the bookshelves

We were always careful
When we went to get a book
Out of those bookshelves