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Forgotten Ground Regained

The Lizard: A Portrait of the Natural World

David Jalajel
Under the Log...
Ease the banded eastern grassa little further. Perform a flourishto showcase the nest of this native specimen.Then plod off to a perfect settingfor woodland revelry. Go wild as a gyre.Show your devotion neath veils of greenery.Then read with a pipe: It is prey sized,but sports with total, tack-sharpness, layers of teeth, its life on the line.
On the Moss...
In retrospect, stage its presenceas variations on an otherworldlyspring carol. Catch those small,metaphysical, first and noveltwin animals: like icon photographs, hand painted. Place them enshrinedat land’s end. Allow them to burrowinto arable substrate. Then upend their dance: pour off the soil from their obsessive heat.
Atop the Tree...
Years ago, these eucalyptuswere as abundant as light. Brandish opticsto focus humour on your hero’s questfor that premium shot. Display the creditsupside-down on its dorsal patterns.Process its colours to expose the huesfrom grey-green to sage. Set it ghostingamong bright leaves, berries and insects.Focus on its head; highlight its eyes.
Within the Skull…
Choose a specimen like a silver brooch.Prefer a temperate and fairly largetotemic likeness. Go live on airto divine its primitive proud fire.Identify it with the forest’s honour.Let its last meal alight in X-raysto be clearly seen. Calm your fame.Go incognito on the next release.Get out in the field, up under its jaws.
Copyright © David Jalajel, 2023 First published in Forgottem Ground Regained: A Journal of Alliterative Verse, New Series, Issue 1, Spring 2024
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