Diablo

Diablo was a jaguar, As black as midnight skies, That sometimes hide the brightest star From everybody's eyes... Yet he had eyes like greenest jade That looked into your soul And thus caused you to stare afraid That you might lose control... The natives knew him very well And thus decreed his name, For they believed he came from Hell, Their very souls to claim... Thus superstition ruled the day Whenever he was seen, So even brave men ran away From one so dark and mean... Yet time past by and all must age, Men and jaguars, too, Till one man stood at centre stage To do what he must do... He faced his fears, he slayed the beast, The natives called him king, While Diablo's life had truly ceased And he lost everything... Denis Martindale, copyright September 2015. Poem based on a magnificent wildlife painting, by artist Stephen Gayford. Google-search gayfordgallery and 'Stephen Gayford poetry'.