art apropos

He sits unmoving on the tree branch,
spotted yellow-green like half-shed spring blooms,
eyes askew, limbs askance,
tail coiled like an upturned quote
waiting for a sentence that never comes.

He looks into the distance, or
at the flitting prey that hovers unaware,
mouth open lazily as if to ooze
spittle, or a liquid dart
that could easily go unnoticed
if not for absent flitting.

But that would come later.
For now he just sits there,
casually bending light with
guanine nanocrystals hidden under
his skin that glistens green.
Or is it purple? Who knows which,
since it probably depends on
if he thinks I’m predator or prey.

But how will he know?
Will he read my mind?
Will he turn green if he smells my fear
and melt into the green leaves
to wait for the perfect moment to pounce?
That makes me green too, but with envy.

I wish I could do that –
Melt into the backdrop.
Then I could stalk him unseen,
creep along the tree branch
deliberately, before arcing in the air
aiming for the jugular.
Except his asynchronous left eye
would probably see photons shift,
and he’d turn an angry purple
to scare the predator (me) off.

But for now, he just stands there,
limb in mid-air, rocking back and forth,
like a clockwork monster out of wind,
trying to stomp on tea-cup towers,
but never quite managing to.