Lizard Poem by Jennifer Parks

Lizard

Why do you frighten so many people?
Could it be that you're cold blooded?
Or is it how you flick your tongue to smell the air,
or how you crawl mere centimeters
from the ground on wickedly clawed feet?
Perhaps, its your skin; rough, dry, and thick
like an old leather handbag.
Maybe they are just afraid
of what they don't know or understand.
For I find beauty in your cautious yet graceful gait-
in the way you tilt your head slightly up
and to the side so you can look me in the eye.
You express your inner beauty
in your pleasure of the simplest things;
as you bask in the warmth of your heat lamp
or eat dandelions greedily as a child eats a piece of candy.
To me, you are a wonder; my strong, silent
golden lizard, my miniature dinosaur, my friend.