The poem, ‘Garden Snake’ is a simplistic description of a harmless snake. The young child narrator encounters a snake in the garden and runs away from it out of fear.
However, his mother informs him that certain kinds of snakes are not dangerous at all. They feed merely on insects. The young child narrator loses his fear, thereafter and begins to watch the snake pass through the garden.
Stanza
Explanation: The young child narrator sees a snake and runs away thinking the snake to be dangerous. His mother, however, tells him that some particular kinds of snakes are not dangerous but good. They eat nothing but insects. Thereafter, the narrator no longer afraid used to stand aside and see the snake wiggle in the grass. Every time the narrator sees the garden snake, he reminds himself that there is nothing wrong as this is just a “harmless garden snake.”