Regeneration

Caught in the trap
                       of a quickly closing door,
the lizard knows to give up 
its tail. I saw  
                    one that was not 
so lucky, plastered half 
on the inside
           of the bathroom window and half
outside, its body 
                            faded to a pale
papyrus-like shade. You'd think
it was a leaf stuck there 
on the glass.
                    In the name of survival 
what  would you give up? The new 
limb is made 
         of cartilage instead of bone.
                      Sunlight falls in patches,
         becoming ghost. The twitch 
in the spine is part
fear, part laughter
scraping raw
gravel.