BRIAN BURKE
Hibiscus
iguanas hide in the drain pipes
of a twenty-foot wall
outside our studio door
feed on the hibiscus
camouflaged from gamekeepers
intent on banishing them
to the lush green golf course
beside the ocean
the iguana journey back
hang on overhead palm branches
bury themselves in small rock crevices
dig out shaded caves near the shore
& finally stretch their necks out
of the drain-piped wall of rock
cautious
but dreaming also of rain
of gamekeepers
& of dinosaurs that escaped extinction
Hibiscus
appeared in CAROUSEL 15 (2004) — buy it here
