Tape
Tape
A strange chameleon
sits on my desk
staring at me
with its giant eye,
its transparent skin
camouflaged against the clutter,
against any terrain.
It sits, waiting
for something to come along
and then the rigid reptile
does nothing.
Doesn’t blink.
Doesn’t budge.
I have to pull its sticky tongue
to get it to unfurl.
I snap the end
across its small sharp teeth
and fix it
to our prey.
It’s a strange chameleon
that sits and stares
and never eats
and doesn’t care.
© Elizabeth Steinglass, all rights reserved, 2015
This is great, Liz! I love “camouflaged against the clutter”
Thanks, Carrie!
Strange chameleon, indeed! Love this, Liz. Sometimes your writing reminds me so much of Valerie Worth.
Wow. That’s quite an honor to be compared to VW. I do love her poems.
This is terrific. I particularly like “and then the rigid reptile
does nothing.”
Thanks, Rosi. I like that part too. I got a little stuck there and thought can the tape be a chameleon if it doesn’t move? and then I just went with it.
Michelle is so right! These poems are like a little homage to VW and the small poems! This one really made me see the tape in a new way–a bit of a stretch, but an apt and exciting one!
If the stapler is jaws, what do you and your students call the tape?
Wildly imaginative — love that sticky tongue and sharp teeth and transparent skin. My scotch tape will never be the same. 🙂
Love this: “I have to pull its sticky tongue
to get it to unfurl.”
Thanks, Mary Lee!
I love that pulling of the sticky tongue! Great extended metaphor, Liz–so fun!
This is so clever, Liz. Like Carrie, I love “camouflaged against the clutter.” Thanks for sharing!