komodo

i'm at the mall getting

my computer looked

at, battery low and

chatting with the expert

donning a cream-colored

cowboy hat and southern

drawl, he sees my san diego

sweatshirt and asks if i'm

from out of town

too complicated to say i

left during a war, with a

toothbrush and bottle of

water, that everything i

wear is borrowed from

my mom, so i say

i'm visiting family

i'm moving to l.a. in

a few months

he says and tells me

about just getting out

of the army and wanting

to join his brother out

west

l.a.? chimes in the

man to my left, also

being helped by the

man in the cowboy

hat moving to l.a.

i lived in there for 12

years, did you know

there is a naples

california?

i say i didn't know and

he tells me about this

gem of a beachside

community where your

front yard is your dock

you're a boater?

and he points to his screen

yours?! that's a ship

not a boat!

and i ask where he has

been and where he

wants to go and what is

the most exotic of all

destination he's ever been

to

without a doubt komodo

island

and he tells me about the

komodo dragon and how

only two islands in the

world have this animal

that is one of nature's

sneakiest and vicous

hunters

and now i'm intrigued and

have to know more, so

how? and now i'm leaning

over and he takes out his

hands thick and strong

from years of ropes and

boats

and he tells me they can

weigh over 200 pounds,

have big eyes that can

see a thousand feet, iron

coated teeth and can run

up to 15 miles per hour

and because they only

need to eat once a

week they can hold their

hunger, hide in shadows

and wait

to pounce and bite with

destabilizing venom

so that even if

the prey gets away

the dragons with their

amazing sense of smell

will eventually find their

poor victim and rip them

to shreds

so how do you fight the

komodo?

he laughs at my silly

question, you don't, you

stay away

he says, this big man with

big hands, then leans in, fear 

is not a bad thing, in fact it's

your friend

and he points one of

his fingers, so listen

to your fears

and we're mesmerized, me

and the cowboy hat

and i thank him, the fear

teacher boater and the

cowboy hat repair man

and leave with a computer

needing repairs and a mind

exploding with thoughts

of komodos