The Nicolson Institute: Thomas Hall

Gekko

At first it had me fooled
A shadow on the wall
As I patrol the circumference of the pool
Under a moonless Mediterranian night
The bushes pulse with insects
And the air is laced with a hundred barbecues.


But then - the creature darts
Before I could blink
And then it remains still again
A survival tactic - playing dead?
But its clinging to a vertical surface.

It is unlike anything I've ever seen
Neither mammal nor bird
Too dark to see the colour on its back
But i guess blue and green
And then - gone, fast as before
And the moment of scientific fascination goes away,
stored into my memory.

by Thomas Hall