these last two mornings
i have had persistent
visitors
two lizards
who parade before me
in my mediation space
are they ancestors
i wonder
especially the smaller
with tail missing
what is the difference
between
belief and superstition
ancestors appearing in dreams
or a white man nailed on a cross
religion versus paganism
a heaven we hope to reach in death
an animal killed to appease
colonial evangelism has given
us a definition
to which even the most progressive
adhere
i bang on the floor and
the lizards scamper
if you are an ancestor
with a message deliver
it and be on your way
they dash away
but soon return
we observe each other
their eyes are better than mine
with their acute color vision
i know they are harmless
although as a child I was
terrified
my older sister and brother
would catch them with
the slender leaves from the
coconut bough and toss
them at me
as my heels touched
my bottom as i sprinted
my voice bellowing
a crocking lizard
lived on the ledge
in our bedroom and
at night would just
carry on its dirge-like song
i was certain it was looking
down and would spring
on me
i was too old to sleep with
my mother and my sister
ran me from her bed
so i took my pillow and sheet
and slept in the bath tub
as there were never any lizards
in there
the only lizards i didn’t fear
then were the pretty
turquoise blue ground
lizards that could
not climb
don’t know
how or when it occurred
but lizards and i arrived at a truce
they no longer illicit any fear
i approach and chide them
for being in my spot
admonish them for
not catching all the mosquitoes
that bite or the insects that invade
my house
i drive them from hiding behind
my numerous pictures
i remind them they are welcome
on the verandah or patio
but are forbidden to enter
my bedroom
the lines of demarcation
have been drawn since childhood
II
lizards are reptiles
with scaly skin
these cold-blood creatures
bask in the sun to recharge
i’ve always thought they are
left-over baby dragons
but harmless
the poor lizard
more fraid of you
my mother would say
trying to lessen my phobia
she who feared nothing
there are said to be
5000 different kinds
and are known to shed
their tails when
in danger
they lay eggs
and their hatchlings
–baby lizards– spring up
some do have a venomous bite
but it’s not toxic enough
to harm us humans
aside for a little pain
although
they climb and sprint
leave their hard black stool
everywhere
they are ubiquitous throughout
the Caribbean
so you might as well
make friends with them
even the large iguanas
who climb my mango trees
and devour the best of my mangoes
but have no sense about crossing
the road i stop and shoo them to safety
of course
i have not encountered
a komodo dragon
that averages about 175 lbs
and grow as large 8’ 5’’
and actually attacks humans
they don’t live where i live
for now my two friends
wait and pose for my camera
perhaps this is the message
after all from my ancestors
befriend your fear
and coexist
with the lizards and all…
