ANNIE AND THE LIZARDS
Mary Nolan Brown
Annie sings to lizards every afternoon.
She sits upon the wood pile and softly sings a tune.
The lizards come out slowly.
They line up – one, two, three.
They cock their heads and move in close.
It’s quite a sight to see.
As she sings, “Show me your blanket,”
each lizard lifts its head.
The skin beneath their little chins
becomes a brilliant red.
Annie’s favorite lizard has a short and stubby tail.
Cat had tried to catch it, but he was doomed to fail.
As Cat bit lizard’s tail – lizard pulled away.
Cat held on with all his might, but lizard didn’t stay.
The tail had come right off you see, much to Cat’s chagrin.
The lizard wasn’t worried – his tail would grow again.
Annie knew the lizard’s tail will soon be lithe and long.
She sees how much its tail has grown when it comes to hear her song.
Annie and her lizards are as happy as can be.
In spite of Cat’s best efforts, Annie still sings songs to three.
` The years have passed. Our daughter now has a backyard of her own – complete with lizards.
In spite of all the current unpleasantness caused by Mother Nature and Mankind, I hope you’re able to find a quiet corner in a park or your back yard to relax – take a deep breath, look up – enjoy the white clouds suspended in the sky of blue – watch the colors change as the sun sets – see the moon appear and count the stars. The sun will rise again and we’ll have an opportunity to do better than we did yesterday.
Until we meet again,
Mary Nolan Brown