Monday, June 20, 2011

I am the Lizard King...

I can do anything.
~Jim Morrison



This anole came visiting a few weeks ago. 
I haven't seen him since, but he was such a natural model, I imagine he's halfway to New York by now.

We rarely see anoles around here. 
In La Porte, where we used to live (where things were much greener) they were everywhere. 
When the kids were little and we'd spot one peeking in the window, I'd tell them "Those are Santa's spies, keeping an eye on you to make sure you're being good!" 
(Moms have to stay a step ahead!)



Precisely the least, the softest, lightest, a lizard's rustling, a breath, a flash, a moment - a little makes the way of the best happiness.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche




At noon in the desert a panting lizard waited for history, its elbows tense, watching the curve of a particular road as if something might happen.
~William Stafford




I am not a demon. I am a lizard, a shark, a heat-seeking
panther. I want to be Bob Denver on acid playing the
accordion. 

- Nicolas Cage 





           The Old Lizard 
by Federico García Lorca
translated by Lysander Kemp

In the parched path 
I have seen the good lizard 
(one drop of crocodile) 
meditating. 
With his green frock-coat 
of an abbot of the devil, 
his correct bearing 
and his stiff collar, 
he has the sad air 
of an old professor. 
Those faded eyes 
of a broken artist, 
how they watch the afternoon 
in dismay!



Is this, my friend, 
your twilight constitutional? 
Please use your cane, 
you are very old, Mr. Lizard, 
and the children of the village 
may startle you.
What are you seeking in the path, 
my near-sighted philosopher, 
if the wavering phantasm 
of the parched afternoon 
has broken the horizon? 



Are you seeking the blue alms 
of the moribund heaven? 
A penny of a star? 
Or perhaps 
you've been reading a volume 
of Lamartine, and you relish 
the plateresque trills 
of the birds? 



(You watch the setting sun, 
and your eyes shine, 
oh, dragon of the frogs, 
with a human radiance. 
Ideas, gondolas without oars, 
cross the shadowy 
waters of your 
burnt-out eyes.) 



Have you come looking 
for that lovely lady lizard, 
green as the wheatfields 
of May, 
as the long locks
of sleeping pools, 
who scorned you, and then 
left you in your field? 
Oh, sweet idyll, broken 
among the sweet sedges! 
But, live! What the devil! 
I like you. 
The motto "I oppose 
the serpent" triumphs 
in that grand double chin 
of a Christian archbishop. 



Now the sun has dissolved 
in the cup of the mountains, 
and the flocks 
cloud the roadway. 
It is the hour to depart: 
leave the dry path 
and your meditations. 
You will have time 
to look at the stars 
when the worms are eating you 
at their leisure.


Go home to your house 
by the village, of the crickets! 
Good night, my friend 
Mr. Lizard! 



Now the field is empty, 
the mountains dim, 
the roadway deserted. 
Only, now and again, 
a cuckoo sings in the darkness 
of the poplar trees.



13 comments:

  1. Incredible photos and he was such a good model!!

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  2. Great pictures...
    Greetings from France,

    Pierre

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  3. Incredible photos, Barbara! There are so many I love, I can't pick a favorite. Enjoyed all the quotes and poems, too. Hope you have a great day!

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  4. some people freak over lizards and i have always loved them....i really think they are quite unique and less bothersome then mice :)
    GREAT PHOTOS !

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  5. Great photographs Barbara, and cute little guy, but I am sure it would give me a fright if I saw one peeking in the window! :-)

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  6. Such a pretty colored lizard! He's hard to spot amongst those leaves. But you captured him perfectly Barbara.

    Hmmm... I wonder what I would do if I saw a lizard?? Scream? Yup... probably.... ;)

    xo Catherine

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  7. I love that you captured the King taking a nap!

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  8. I love the look in the third from the last! He's pondering. Great captures!

    As in my post from a few weeks back, I like lizards except when I find them in the house!

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  9. Great photos but I don't like anything creepy crawly. Yikes!

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  10. Great shots..just imagine all the bugs he eats and keeps the plants healthy.
    xo

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  11. I'm one of those people who freaks out over the tiniest spider, but love lizards. They seem like our only tame link to a prehistoric world. I stepped outside a couple of weeks ago just in time to see the biggest lizard I'd ever seen scurry off our porch. We sometimes see the little ones, up to six or so inches long, but this one was probably 16 inches or more. If it hadn't moved so quickly, I'd think it was someone's pet baby croc on the loose!

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  12. wow these are great. i love shooting pics of lizards. alhough the ones we get here arent this colourful

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  13. My, he is such a fantastical green fella - what vibrant colors. The images are amazing. And what brilliant poetry and quotes! We've got lots of cute little lizzards here - unfortunately the cats adore the thrill of their speed so we often receive tail-less lizzard-gifts.
    I never actually heard of an anole - but he's really handsome. And what a clever Mom about Santa spying! :-)

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