switching on the light
I find a slimy lizard
slithering on the wall
after a while it is
on a hot pursuit
of a tiny insect
pausing a while
it watches the insect
waiting for a kill
when insect moves
the lizard swoops
wallowing it whole
in fascinated horror,
I watch it unblinking
rooted to the spot
"death for one is food for the other"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get into this train for a great ride....
How very true...a life without horror would be a life without beauty. We need one to recognize the other.'
ReplyDeleteb
Survival of the fittest. At the expense of another, survival goes on continuously but not many choose to spare some time to understand it. Good work, Gautami.
ReplyDeletesounds like a geko, but they're not slimy. Hey, why don't you come be interviewed?
ReplyDeleteMeant to be that way.
ReplyDeleteThe harsh rule of nature - and one reason for its wonderful balance. A strange world.
ReplyDeleteI remember a gecko running out from under my bed when I was in Africa.
ReplyDeleteYou nicely captured the beauty and horror of nature. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThe law of the jungle is put in good words here!
ReplyDeletelife is a survival and has harsh realities...
ReplyDeleteI don't argue with nature, it knows better than me, good nature narrative :)
ReplyDeleteIt's true, sometimes it's hard to know who to root for...
ReplyDelete'in fascinated horror,
ReplyDeleteI watch it unblinking
rooted to the spot
"death for one is food for the other" '
Really love the ending.
I like the image of the speaker "unblinking/rooted to the spot." It perfectly echoes the lizard watching its prey. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! You have to do what you have to do to stay alive.
ReplyDeletevery true statment at the end and great poem, love to the title too, very good.
ReplyDeletelove to watch those little battles of life, facinating.
Food chain! Fun read, it's sure life's tale.
ReplyDeleteHi Gautami, great observation and recollection, but did he wallow it or swallow it?
ReplyDeleteinteresting though- and I'm getting ready to eat! :)
ReplyDeleteYou paint a very clear image in this poem!
ReplyDeleteLife is all about balance, isn't it?
Nature does keep things in perfect balance whether we like it not. Excellent Guatami.
ReplyDeleteAnd the food chain continues...it's not always pretty, is it? I used to see lizards like this all the time when I lived in Panama as a teen. They were always on the walls outside our house, and they were actually quite cute...thanks for bringing back some fond memories. :~)
ReplyDeletebrilliant!!
ReplyDeleteI remember watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom when I was kid... but don't suppose you get that in India. It was a lot of animals eating animals.
ReplyDeleteHey, you have a photo of yourself up now! :-)
"grandeur of dooms" is what Keats says :)
ReplyDeletehow true that is ... must we all be meat lovers?
ReplyDeleteshort but to the point.
an ancient game of life and death, of predator and prey... i love the way you presented it
ReplyDeleteAs one door closes, another opens -life.
ReplyDeleteThe only shiny Lizzerds we got is Gila Monsters and they is poisonous as hell!
ReplyDeleteYa cain't blame a creature fer doin' what it's s'posed to do..and that's eat other critters and git eaten.
Hope y'er plannin' on celebratin' Darwinian Evolmalutionary week!
This reminds me of Kabir's doha.
ReplyDeleteMati Kahe kumbhar se,
tu kya mujh ko rondhe
ek din asia awenga
mai rondungi towe.
Law of conservation of energy.
Good one!!!!
Gee watching a lizard so carefully!
ReplyDeleteBut u captured the idea well here.
Death for one is food for other!
Oh, I love the sounds in this! Perfect word choices!
ReplyDeleteThis just made me think of how there's a whole little world down there that we rarely think about.
ReplyDeleteIt also reminded me of the time I found this giant slug on the floor of my old apartment. It was more like a small snake. *shudder*
all things die so something else can eat- it's the way of it.
ReplyDeletereally nice:-)
...this is nature, is a good topic to write , and you do very well .
ReplyDelete