Life of a Reptile

 —Reptilian Poems by Lynn White,
Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales

—Today's LittleNip by Michael H. Brownstein
—Photos Courtesy of Public Domain 

LIZARD

The lizard ran out
quickly.
He sat on a rock
and looked up
slowly
checking the progress
of the sun.
It suited him
so he stayed
and stayed
soaking up the warmth
relaxing.
Relaxed
but alert
only moving when disturbed
by food
or danger
moving quickly then
back
into his hideaway.


(First published in Blognostics, Feb/March 2019)

 

 

 

 

NEWT

I can understand
why
on a hot, hot day,
Lawrence’s snake appeared thirstily
at his water trough.
And why his lizard ran out
onto a rock
to flaunt himself in the sunshine.
But why
on a wet, wet day,
a newt should leave
her splendidly moist habitat
and venture hazardously
into the dry warmth of my kitchen,
that
I cannot understand.
And, of course she couldn’t explain.



(First published in Foxglove, January 2018)

 

 

 

 

TURTLE


Well, my turtle you may be slow
but you get there in the end
determinedly.
And you’ll walk through fire to do it
and survive the flames
and anything else
that the devil
may conjure up
you’ll survive
it.
He won’t ever make soup of you
however hard he tries
you’ll survive.


(First published in Peach Velvet, Tarot, November 2018)

 

 

 

 



BRENDA’S TURTLE


When I was a child,
Brenda’s turtle walked
into the hot, hot embers.
No one knew why.
So badly burned
we thought him ready
for an easeful, sleepy death.
“No, no” said the vet,
“very resilient, turtles,
could live to be a hundred.”

I would like to tell you
that he made the hundred,
but he’s not quite there yet,
though he still seems happy enough.



(First published in Vox Poetic, May 2017)

 

 

 


THE LIZARD

The lizard loves abandoned places.
They make for an exciting life,
so many nooks
and crannies
to seek out
for shelter
or snacks
from the creatures
ill-advised to shelter there.

There’s compost to scrabble through,
rustic brickwork to climb,
even a tightrope to practice balance.
And the sun
shining through it all
to be soaked up with joy.


Such a haven of perfection!



(First published in Spillwords, 8/27/22)

 

 

 

COUPLED

Every year in March
our frogs have a party,
more of an orgy really.
But this year
there were two late comers,
a loving couple
who waited
until after the party was over.
Lily and Henry were their given names
and come the summer
we delighted to see
their offspring
swimming
up and down our pond,
all those tiny Lilys and Henrys
growing ready for next year’s party.



(First published in Spectrum, Summer Love, June 2022)

___________________

Today’s LittleNip:

IN HONOR OF HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
—Michael H. Brownstein, Jefferson City, MO, USA

too many hollow
costs never wanting to end:
it's time for world peace

___________________

—Medusa, with thanks to Lynn White for today’s fine poems about reptiles, and to Michael Brownstein for today’s remembrance.

 

 

 

 

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