Mourning Poem by Diana van den Berg

I begged you,
little gecko, with the big frightened eyes,
not to leave the comparative safety of my single windscreen wiper
and especially not to go on to the roof of the car,
for the wind would be too strong
for the sucker pads
of your tiny feet,
and I couldn’t stop the car
on the freeway with traffic all around me,
but I didn’t speak Gecko
and the windscreen that protected my human-sized body
was a barricade between me and your little gecko-frame
and now my insides
are scrunched up
at the thought
of your fate.

(20 January 2001)