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!
Copyright © Adeniji Toluwalope Gideon | Year Posted 2016
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