Lizard of Possibility
Alanna Shaikh
USA
I heard a sound in our garden last night
A dragging shuffling sound – an animal sound
Not angry but busy
Rushing
Inexplicable, zoological
It’s a commonplace mystery, that sound
I hear it most nights and
Should I go out to look
It will scurry
Here in the tropics
That sound is rich with possibilities
Civet, palm squirrel, crow snake, rat
Iguana even, or one of the bigger lizards:
The dangerous kabaragoya or the less aggressive thalagoya
The kabaragoya will eat your cuddly housepet snap snap
Best then sound stays sound
Alanna Shaikh is a Guest Contributor for Panorama