Anthony Dirk Ray

Sexagenarian Reptilian

I stayed at my grandparents 
a lot as a young child.
my grandmother was a very
liberal person when it came
to the human body.
she would get undressed
in front of me, and allow me to
look at my grandfather’s 
playboys while he was at work.
she would be in the bed reading,
and I would be at the foot of the 
bed not reading the articles.
at night I slept in between
my grandparents in the bed.

on one occasion, my grandfather
was working the graveyard shift
at the paper mill, and it was 
just me and my grandmother.
we got into bed and I put
my little leg across her leg 
as I usually did at night.
this time something strange happened,
and I said to my grandmother,

“Nana, you make my lizard long”

silence…

she was either thinking that it’s
time he sleeps in another room or,
‘shit, I still got it’