Come quick, yelled Jill
I heard the stress in her voice and felt a chill
Creep down my spine to the floor below
A sudden jolt to my morning flow.
The lizard’s stuck and cannot move
Stuck between a rock and its usual groove
It looked sad, as if almost dead
So much so, it left me with dread
That this harbinger of spring might die in his tracks
His future seemed lost, if not rather black.
I ran for a crowbar, stored under our house
Then returned to the rock and my waiting spouse
I wondered how to help without making it worse
Feeling less like a midwife than a poorly equipped nurse.
I poked the steel between paver and stone
Heaved and sighed as it cut to the bone.
The paver moved and the head was released
I was glad that it meant his suffering ceased
But he still did not move, was it death or fear
That caused him to freeze when freedom was near.
I took a small twig to prod him to life
Then said a few words as I turned to my wife
It’s now or never, we will wait and see
If he’s got some life, he will surely flee
And flee he did, drawing back to his hole
That had kept him safe as a comforting bowl.
So my lizard may survive for another day
To greet the dawn and engage the fray
He will warm himself in the Springtime sun
And scurry for safety all humans to shun.
Robert Hoskin
