Reptilian Dreams

If there is another life, I want to come back as an American alligator in Florida. Legally protected, no predator but man, I could lie all day on a rock or a log, basking in the sun and the knowledge that I am the ruler of my domain.


the deepness of being

turtle heads sink as I approach thwarting
my attempt to slide noiselessly through the grass
was the tread of my feet rumbling through
the loose ground sending waves rippling across the swamp
did the burning sun drop my shadow across its path
the momentary blink enough to send it below
what of the gar, suspended in its yellow broth,
grown so big when the gator glides so silently
yet gone with a flash in my mere, unmenacing presence
what is my taste as darting tongues flick the air
that makes one snake slide off without hesitation
and another stand its ground, hooded mesmerist
beckoning me to come forward to join his dance
dispassionate gators languidly draped across rocks
some submerged save for horny eyes and nostrils
imperceptible sweep of tail propels one slowly
toward my vantage point, my body involuntarily
moving my feet fascination turning me back
to childhood hours spent in the reptile house
humid refuge from the stinging Buffalo winters
the Indian boy so far from home
motionless myself, hugging the worn wooden rail
waiting for movement, signs of life or death
almost drawn to their deep blue pit looming below
at first, Johnny Weissmuller triumphant and brave
and then, a small boy, wondering into the darkness
which croc had eaten the other hapless little boy
toppled from the rail his father checking the time
anxious to watch them feed the seals and go home
one day, without explanation, the big ones were gone
phantoms then of nights never fully slept again
what is it you fear o terrible leviathan
do you know the rifle’s crack, the bulldozer’s
roar gouging ruts across your green ocean
do you taste the mercury that seeps into your flesh
can you smell the naked steel as it plunges into your neck
do you fear the thunder of a cloudless night
electric glimpses of inescapable twisted images
burned indelibly into the reaches of your reptilian brain
shared by the Indian boy still so far from home

Florida Everglades