Mişaron by Maria Taylor

Mişaron

On jasmine nights we share a veranda,

you’re camouflaged in silence, a presence

easy to miss and that suits you. Moon lizard,

your life quietly plaited with ours. A milky body

pearled with tubercles of sandy brown,

an unofficial pet kennelled on an outside wall.

Baby cousin of the dragon, no one sane

would ever hurt you. High up and out of sight,

sticky digits bedded into walls. You do us favours,

dining on insects that trouble us at night,

roaches and mosquitoes dealt with for free.

We admire your mystery. When illuminated

by an outside light you’re translucent,

a harmless ghost. And the grandmother

I barely remember loved you too, because you

Mişari were a sign that everything was right,

at peace, holding on to the softness of night.

(Mişaron: Mediterranean House Gecko, pronounced Misharon)

Maria Taylor is a British Cypriot poet and reviewer who has been highly commended in the Forward Prizes. She has been widely published including poems and reviews in The Guardian, Magma and The Times Literary Supplement. Her most recent collection is Dressing for the Afterlife (Nine Arches Press).