Blue Bellies

We used to catch lizards, do you remember?
Blue bellies.
Well, you used to catch them anyway,
and I tagged along.
Patiently, you stalked our prey,
as I bubbled with excitement.

They are really called western fence lizards,
the blue bellies.
I bet you don’t know that.
Maybe it doesn’t matter,
we stopped catching them long ago.

But then I stop and smile,
remembering those summer days.
I decide I will never tell you
what I have learned,
for there is magic in a name.