it was born of my contempt for the barbarous act of caging wild animals in a zoo •
this final edit inspired by prompt #24 at Writer’s Island,
prompt #23 at We Write Poems,
and prompt #74 at Carry on Tuesday.
•
from rippled sinew black as midnight
bores a stare of molten gold
a furious but calm inferno
searing deep to burn your soul
unyielding is this panther’s pace
held captive in this foolish zoo
cold eyes rivet snarled contempt
unfathomed pools of quiet rage
on this panther paces paces
turns and paces back he paces
graceful stride of brute resolve
presses on to test his bounds
proud this captive soul just paces
frustration turns anger retraces
this brutal prison of false environ
does not fool this mighty beast
observe how he continues pacing
instinct certain this is not home
his piercing gaze fixed well beyond
his suffered fate of cruel confine
see the panther pacing pacing
his nature steeled his spirit strong
relentless sorrow wild longing
drive on and on his constant stride
this will not break his fierce resolve
he tracks freedom he stalks life
imprisoned he will forever pace
and he will pace
and he will die
• • •
(haiku)
•
caged beast close your eyes
have no fear of letting go
dream of wild freedom
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Rob, you’ve had me in tears again. A wonderful pair of poems. Way back when, I wrote a poem called The Reluctant Cat, of which I am now thoroughly ashamed!
Thank you Viv! We humans have some sad, strange, and occasionally barbaric rituals, that do bring tears to your eyes – war, hunting, and the caging of wild animals fall in the later…
…rob
Terribly sad. The illustration portrays him so majestically and he appears so powerful and yet we have reduced him to a shell with the fire no longer in his eyes, pacing until he dies.
It is terribly sad Aoife…
…rob
rob these are both wonderful and fraught with emotion….the haiku actually struck me heavily…nice one shot!
Thank you Brian — the haiku came in a rush as I was proofreading the free verse piece… it was in response to a prompt at Carry On Tuesday…
…rob
The free verse fully embodies the feline restlessness of pantherdom/imprisonment.
The haiku has a great “embrace your vagaric nature” feel to it.
Thank you visiting and commenting Steve…
…rob
Powerful statement on the treatment of this noble beast. We should be ashamed.
Thank you Ben — we should learn to live in balance with the lifeforms that share this precious planet with us, and get over our arrogant supremest
attitudes…
…rob
Great art work on your site! Enjoyed both your poems. Lines and image work so well in the first one. Outstanding haiku.
Thank you Adam, I appreciate the kind words…
…rob
Touching panther tribute, Rob.
Thank you Eric…
…rob
“from rippled sinew black as midnight
bores a stare of molten gold” – such beauty and sadness expressed here!
Thank you OMJ…
…rob
I hate zoos. Your empathy for the panther is clear. These poems both shine like the panther’s coat when it is freely roaming.
Thanks, Rob. Amy
Thank you for your kind words Amy — a zoo, for me, represents the worst kind of human arrogance…
…rob
Dream of wild freedom. Great pieces here Rob. Love and Light, Sender
Thank you Sender… 😉
…rob