On the floor before the library service desk
a little lizard
feels like soft dry rubber
when I put a finger to it.
Think it maybe is a doll, so pick it up.
Still am not sure.
There in my palm,
its tail comes off,
and where it had attached
there is a small blood-colored organ.
It still feels like rubber.
I am still not sure.
Did someone make a four-inch doll anole,
engineer it so its tail comes off
to mimic real autotomy?
I wouldn’t put it past
a New Orleanian.
Don’t have the guts to drop it in my pocket
so I throw it in the trash
right there and leave.
But here at home,
it’s haunting me.
It really may have been a world-class doll.
Should I go back for it?
I’m still not sure.
