Captive
Calmly through the bars observe
how correct a tiger is;
the striped fur blends with cages,
how the iron parallels
the paw freed by your --calmly-eye,
and if it's a big one--coincide--
how the stripes become the bars;
tiger flesh rejoins a fawn's,
commitment to the cub he was
before a shadow caged his ribs;
how he glides by appropriateness
into jungles while you stand
outside his eyes, beyond his bars;
captor, witness, victim--calmed.
William Stafford
Posted over on William Stafford Archives
No comments:
Post a Comment