I heard a scream from the laundry room,
A shout, “Come QUICK! And bring the BROOM!”
Ran down the hall, and through the door,
“There it is!  THERE, on the floor!”
I looked down at the clay brown tile,
That’s when I saw the gecko smile.
He looked at me.  Looked in my eyes
As if to say, “Are you surprised?”
“It’s warm in here when the dryer runs
I’m just sleepin’ in the morning sun,
Wouldn’t hurt a fly (maybe that’s not true,)
But I promise, Sir, I won’t hurt you.”

Its skin was tan, like its tile bed,
“But, It’s so small,” I turned and said,
“I don’t care.  It’s in my HOUSE!
Remember when you trapped that mouse?
So here’s what I want you to do
Go buy a gecko trap or two,
And get that monster out of here,
I’m not coming back till the coast is clear.”
And she turned around and walked away
Guess I had my orders for the day.
There’s a gecko in the laundry room
And I’m standing there with a worthless broom.

The gecko stared, I stared right back,
I was making plans for a sneak attack
When all at once the gecko took a leap onto my shirt
“Sir, give up now, I beg of you, before one of us gets hurt.
Tell your wife I ran away; I think she’ll understand.
After all I’m just a gecko and you’re a big strong man.”
He jumped onto a dark green towel, then to my surprise,
He turned green and disappeared, before my very eyes!
That little guy was really quick,
And the camouflage thing was a **** good trick,
But I knew he wasn’t really gone,
I had a job to do, so the war was on.

I closed the door and chased that guy, for an hour, ‘round the room
I’d get close and swing at him with my gecko huntin’ broom
He’d stretch, and yawn, and leap away, turning colors all the while,
“Come on Sir, try harder,” he said with his ever-present smile.
I moved the washer and the dryer, the laundry basket, AND the clothes,
All the time he’s laughing, as my frustration grows.
“Excuse me, Sir, “ he said, I’m getting bored with ‘Hide and Seek’
There’s a window, over there, think I’ll just go and take a peek,
You turn around, and close your eyes and count from one to ten,
I’ll find another place to hide and we can start the game again.”
So I turned around began to count, “One, and two, and three,”
No tiny little gecko can make a fool of me.

I knew the window was cracked open, I would sweep him right outside
Then I wouldn’t care at all where the gecko chose to hide.
As I counted four, I turned around (I didn’t wait for ten)
I thought I’d get the drop on him, but I had to think again.
The gecko, on the outside, gave me a little wave
“I know what you were going to do – Sir, that wasn’t very brave.”
I saw at once what he had done,
Now there were THREE instead of one.
“Sir, I was getting tired, so I called a couple of my friends
I told them you were fun to play with, but I guess it all depends,
On whether you keep playing, or let us stay the night.
We promise when your wife comes back we’ll all stay out of sight.

I turned and wandered down the hall, and told my wife with pride,
“It’s finished, over, job well done, the gecko is outside!”
“Thank you dear,” she said and turned to Oprah on TV.
But wait, I thought, (though not out loud) till you find the other three.
Phil Lindsey 11/17/15