Geckos

On our first night in the new house,I was so excited to seeA small, flesh-colored lizard stuck to my bathroom window.I ran into Bryce’s room,Woke him from a deep sleep,And showed him our new neighbor.
Since that night,Three friends visited us regularlyEvery night after the sun went down.On hands and bent kneesFive little fingers splayed,Like crawling babies.Innocently snacking on the littlest bugs.
A few nights ago,I sat in the tubThinking of my day(My own crawling baby had graduated to running and throwing himself down stairs),Pretending to read,Watching my geckos.
The one at the bottom of the window,Catching tiny moths,Mosquitoes,Almost-microscopic brown bugs.In the top corner,Its brotherFound a beetleAnd swallowed it whole.
With the tenacity of a toddler,Learning a new wayTo terrorize his mother,The gecko wrestled,Slobbered,Writhed,And finally swallowedThe still-straining beetle.
The bath water cold.I sat transfixed.The gecko, looking wiser,Belly bulging with beetle,Slunk away to sleep off his meal.

originally published 1/06