Tail of the Lizard

Tail of the Lizard

- Joy Krauthammer

Tail of the 'Little Guy' as I call him, is missing this morning. My back yard porch little lizard visits with me every single day, and doesn't run away from me as I enter our shared space.

Yesterday I thought I would photograph him, and I didn't.  Too late now. Day before he was so cute. My 90 years young friend Edith was on the phone with me when I saw Little Guy outside, and I put the phone on speaker so Edith could also greet him and be heard.  Amazingly Little Guy perked up his head, tilting it sideways and up, as he listened to Edith say "HI".  I'd never seen his head tilt when I speak to him, as I do every day.  He's bigger than he was last year when maybe he was a year old.

I'm upset and sad that Little Guy's tail is missing. He's sitting very quietly on my porch floor, next to the white plastic chair that holds my wet bathing suit. I hope he's not in pain, and I told him so.  We have animals through the garden. Cats, squirrels, hawk, and luckily lately I don't see the others: gopher, hawk, coyote. WHO stole Little Guy's tail?

Yesterday I told Edith that I could catch Little Guy and bring him to her garden few blocks away, and leave him there because she has NO lizards. True she has cat and dog and hummingbirds, so maybe lizards are smart and don't visit Edith, but Edith knows they are helpful in curTailing insects.

I don't want now to photograph because of lizard's loss. I don't photograph sadness.  But maybe I can transcend and transform and see the missing tail-- stolen, as a disability, and just see lizard in a different light, as being 'whole', as an amputee would want to be seen.

I hope Little Guy is not in shock, and can function well. I'm sad.

June 14, 2013

PS
A couple months ago, 3 of his species died from other side of yard.

Little Guy Lizard 3.29.13 couple months ago

© Joy Krauthammer

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