About eighty million lizards
live in California's Mojave Desert
I know this to be true
because I found it on Google
although they failed to report
the total lizard population of North America
My final guess, 1.2 billion
which would mean more lizards
than human beings and dogs combined
One of these colonies
is located outside our house
on our steps
the sidewalk
the patio deck
in the driveway
next to the garage
under the recycling bin
here and there in the flower beds
Our little guests love to relax in the sunshine
where they slumber with their eyes shut tight
then retreat to their lizard dens at sunset
Cincinnati lizards are neither angry nor obstreperous
They never bare their tiny sharp teeth
or make unpleasant growling noises
Quite the reverse, they are exceedingly shy
and flee at the first sign of human intruders
You would not believe how speedy these lizards can be
though they are only four or five inches long
The dog has never been able to catch one
despite trying so many times
They zoom straight up walls
scurry into minuscule holes
vanish in the tall grass or the rock pile
Five years ago not a single lizard lived on our block
but now dozens of them
maybe hundreds
share our space
I am pleased they have joined our family
We are lonely and bored during the pandemic
and, thanks to our lizard friends
we live in a more lively and exotic place
No comments:
Post a Comment