Chasing the Alligator

We have lost our sense of humor. We chase the alligator down Front Street, past Mollies Convenience Store and the County Clerk- Recorder Office. He’s taken us under a red sky grand, hardly noticed. Were it not for the children riding on his back, we would let him go. They sit on him, smooth as a new wallet, shoes, purse. Where in our imagination, we ask ourselves, have we seen this kind of thing before? Yes, where? Following the tip of his tail as he heads for the culvert we move as one, an army uncertain of its purpose.