The Iroko Lizard Poem by Tony Cemaluk

It climbed the iroko,
Not as a man with ladder,
Not as a monkey with tail,
Not as a child with a silver spoon —
As a lizard,
Small belly to hard bark,
No aid, no hand, no helper.

Tallest tree, and the widest too in the forest,
It dared,
And reached the top.

It came down,
Freely,
Not as a bird that has lost its wings to fall,
But as one who owns the descent.

Then it picked a race,
On the ground of men,
And ran —
Oh, it ran —
Till Olympic champions
Ate its dust behind, dazed.

Alas, it climbed another and stayed,
Settled.

What is it?
What shall we call it?
Whatever it is —
Fatherless, motherless,
Brotherless, sisterless,
An orphan in the orphanage of life —
Praise it.

Praise it now,
Or watch it nod to itself,
And praise itself,
Even clap for itself.

— A: C: E: | The Iroko Lizard Principle