Horned Toad Memoir Poem by Kimberly Burnham

The Horned Toad
Albuquerque, New Mexico ▲1962

Abandoned to the care of my aunt
old and wrinkled from a life in the sun
on the back of a huge horse
I sit on the blanket behind
the saddle where my cousin rides
the field full of sun scorched weeds
and one horned toad, fat and round
spikes jutting out from its body

I wish I was bigger
stronger than four
I would leap from the saddle
towards the unsuspecting horned toad
no one would stop me

Too small I yell about the injustice
back to the house released
from the soft woolen blanket
I run fast as I can
searching and searching
for a horned toad sandy tan
against the red dirt

I cry to my mother a few days later
when my parents return from a short trip
a tomboy thwarted

I don't think about my cousin
scared she won't get me back
on the horse without help if I fly off

I don't think of the horned toad
and what this creature loves
about their wild desert life
I am just passing through
capturing memories of childhood