Too Fine A Point

My word! What’s wrong? Are you O.K.?
Good sir, what makes you writhe this way?
What, poison? How was it applied?
Quickly, friend, before you’ve died!
Did you ingest the dose, or was
A fang perhaps involved? Because
As victim of a fatal bite
You’ve one last chance to get this right
Before you leave this mortal plane.
Hush, sir. Listen, I’ll explain:
If you’re the one who did the biting,
Poison’s why you’re now good-nighting;
If the bitten party’s you
Then venom’s caused this whole to-do.
A fine distinction, true, but one
We ought to make before you’re done.
Let not thy colors fade away
Without we’ve parsed these shades of gray
And scried the spring your doom’s flowed from!
Now, mind, it’s just a rule of thumb,
But if your role’s not P-for-Passive,
P-for-Poison brought this massive
Tragedy, and if instead
The teeth in something else’s head
Conveyed the toxin hence to thee,
The villain’s Venom-with-a-V.
So, were you bitten? Did you bite?
Which was it? Sir? Oh, dear. Sleep tight.

Afterlife Lesson

Poison avoidin’s a good thing to do:
If you breathe, touch or taste it, who’s most annoyed? You.
Venom’s a friend if it springs from inside;
If it’s alien then there’s a chance you’ve just died.
What’s the difference between them? Stick this in your head:
When it’s venom, you’re bitten ‘n’ then end up dead.
Conversely, if you do the biting and die,
That was poison. Next time you’ll know better. Good-bye.

Venomous Kittens

Kittens: Adorable, fuzzy and sweet…
Until they decide that you’re something to eat.
They’ll climb up your chest, nudge your chin with their head,
Take a nip from your neck, and meowla, you’re dead.
It’s not that they’re mean, predatory or vicious,
They just lack control when they think you’re delicious.
They’ll grow to adulthood and soon lose their venom
(Well, most do; I’d swear that some still have it in ’em),
But juvenile felines will lay you to waste
In a heartbeat. It pays to have terrible taste.