what scientists don’t know

scientists don’t know why
whiptail lizards

(an all-female species
that reproduces via

immaculate conception
or so i’m told)

simulate sexual intercourse
with each other

but i think
you and i

could give them
some answers

because it feels good
because it’s comforting

to hold one
like yourself but not

because you want to
find out how she bites

to feel her teeth
on your leathery skin

because the arizona desert
is vast and lonely

and what a miracle it is
to have found another

because your babies are
given to you by god

and you’re all virgins
and you’re all marys

and isn’t that something
worth celebrating

because the two of you
are turning into your mothers

who turned into their mothers
and it’s unbelievably nice

to be with someone 
who gets it

and anyway
she looks real pretty

when her tail’s entwined
with yours