Master of Camouflage

In the forest, one I saw Groping down a tree limb Trembling like an old man Dressed in a patchwork robe of Green, gray, yellow and brown Its colours were like the bark and leaves of the tree At a glance, it could have been a cluster of Yellow, brown and green leaves shaking in the wind With a slow and deliberate gait Changing colour at will to match the surrounding The body gives the appearance of being rather compressed With a pointed ridge along its back Large eyeball, fused eyelids Having only a small opening Through which it looks for its preys Shooting out its tongue several inches Picking off insects with great skills Lying horizontally in the back of its mouth, A cone-shaped bone; the point forward At its base, the long hollow tongue is anchored Long muscles held the tongue Pleated with accordion bellows Compressed around the bone Turning individually, its turret eyes Within the range, an insect it spots Powerfully, the long muscle contracts And held the tongue over the bone Like a compressed spring The tip of the slippery bone tightens And the tongue shoots out Stuck on the gluey tip, the insect Its long, limp tongue, slowly drawn in Like a baby eating noodles To see it again, a joy to the sight This great chameleon!