September 2005
Photo and poem by: BikerX


Magnificent Tigress

To see you up this close,
To find you in a mood to play -
To see your muscles ripple, and those stripes!
Oh, what a truly magical day!

Funny, I was so busy feeling
Awe, admiration, love, respect, wonder,
And trying not to be an intruder,
(While remembering rules for my safety and yours,
Like not to grab for the fence if I fell...)

That I forgot to be afraid; that you are
The consummate carnivore, several times my size,
Equipped by Mother Nature for deadly efficiency,
And instead adored your cuffing,
Loved our games of cat and mouse,
And was overjoyed that you indulged me in play,
As you know what a fence is as well as do I.

I was enchanted when you locked your
Eyes - playfully, intensely, challengingly - with mine
And made me wonder if you'd really pounce.
Then, nobel one, did you appear to laugh at me!

I stroked your brother's silky back through the fence,
A transcendent pleasure; one of several
Breathtaking memories made that day.
Come what may, I will be back to see you.

By: BikerX

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