# Gecko on table staring up at light Author: MikeRozak Tags: Gecko, Poem, Reptilian _Gecko on table staring up at light_ Mike Rozak Copyleft 2010     " **Gecko-scooter**" with pump-action pedals.     ## Bingo gambling The dangling lamp above me fascinated White light Moths and other night insects flying around Wondered what they tasted like Bitter   Lying on my circular table Staring up at the light   Snare-drumming my fingers against the table Left hand, then right, then left   Peeled off some old skin from my chest Staring up at the light   My remaining "friends" had left an hour before We had gambled using bingo-like cards And plastic chips No-one ate the chips this time That I saw   They had all left It wasn't the same Without my friend         ## Friend's death A couple weeks before My friend had died Lived in my ex-grandmother's house With me   My house, her house, my ex-grandmother's house Half fly-screen enclosed patio A large green table in the centre Above which hung a light Against the wall was a sink Run from water collected by the corrugated iron roof   The other half was into a single room was enclosed My bed was on one side Her bed on the other She was closest to the sink and mirror L Her bed was now empty   I stared at the light Lying on the green table It dimmed slightly As my power box faded   Her body I buried two days after she died A shallow grave a ways from the house Her/my friends visited Noted their respects to the grave And went on with their lives   She was perfectly healthy I'm not sure why she died She was happy in the evening A headache Dead in the morning         ## The party conversation What happened at the party? Was there any conversation? It may have revolved around alcohol (not quite alcohol, but the same effect) Or throwing gambling pieces around Or where to holiday Or who was losing Or who was winning Or "I saw you eat that chip!"   Got eyed by one of the "boys" Nothing mentioned about stars Nothing about getting off the planet Nothing about our voice-only friends Who didn't exist to her/my friends, then around the table     ## Hominids Hominids lived nearby No-one visited them I won't mention why   On my bicycle I walked it a kilometre down a small track At a T-intersection with a road I bicycled to the left The Hominids were to the right   Reaching the hamlet half an hour later Was a parts store And a part-time restaurant And a few gecko houses And a food store     When in need of money I worked at the food store It paid for food I couldn't find in the wild And a few repairs to my house, my friend's house, and my ex-grandmother's house     ## Job The light no longer lit My power supply had died They normally lasted for years   I returned left to the village Accepted work at the shop Taking money from people Cleaning up Stocking food   In a few weeks I would have enough money I could purchase another power supply And then stop work until I needed more   Nothing mattered much without my friend   I worked Maybe a week       ## The offer A hominid drove up You'd call it a 1930's diesel pickup truck In the tray were goods for the shop Brought in by spaceplanes Which they controlled   I unloaded the goods He eyed me off, curious He liked the look of my eyes I could tell The surrounding skin was exceptionally colourful    "I heard you wanted to get off the planet?", said the Hominid. Yes "Are you sure?" Yes I was depressed "I'll stop by in a few days."       ## A tube Two days later he stopped by He entered the store Asked me to come out This time his truck's tray had no goods   In the back of his pickup A glossy black cylinder lay Elliptical A bit taller than me Wider   He pulled it off Stood it vertically Opened it like a oyster shell   "All you have to do to get off the planet is step in." "I'll close it around you." "You'll be on a spaceplane tonight." "I don't know where you'll go though."   I stepped in   He closed the oyster shell     ## The trip The tube's inside was dark There were some holes for air, and waste Just above my eyes A scratched-plastic window Lit the interior And showed the sky   The man raised me (and the tube) Pushed me onto his ute I didn't mind The space was too small The air too stuffy Gecko panic could have arrived But I didn't mind   I was depressed.   I was going to leave My/her friends I hadn't told Nor the shopkeeper for whom I was working   I was depressed   The car door opened The man climbed in The car door closed The engine started And drove us away   My bicycle left behind   Twenty minutes of bumps later The car stopped Its engine ceased   Someone discussed me with the man "A willing gecko"   Two pairs of shoed feet picked up my tube I was carried across some dry ground Up a clanking metal grate And set down on a metal floor   "Are you alright?" Yes, I said. "We'll get you food in a bit."   Two hours later The spaceplane hummed We took off I never was fed Not an issue   The spaceplane was shot down A casualty of war   It may have been for the best I didn't know it then And wouldn't have cared I was collectable Like a pretty pebble Or a shell from the sea   # For more stories You can download more of my short stories for free from:   [http://www.disclosuree.com/Stories.pdf](http://www.disclosuree.com/Stories.pdf) Source: https://sofurry.com/s/yndvw9le