Scales

the hard yellow skin now covered
most of his chest and
all of his belly.
it was as ugly and
thickly humped up
as burned tissue.
cracks zigged and zagged
every which way,
deep and black,
shading down to a pinkish-red
deep down there you most definitely
did not want to look.
at first thought,
the cracks were as random
as those in a bomb crater.
after a moment or two,
your helpless eyes
reported a different story.
at each edge,
the hard flesh rose a bit more.
scales –
that was the only thing
to call them.
not fish scales but
great rough reptile scales
like those on a lizard,
'gator or iguana.