Jungle Prince

Fresh-made prints of the Jungle Prince, A tiger, to be sure! The sight of these could well convince With every new-laid paw... Perhaps he was a mile away Or maybe up a tree, Content to stay, content to lay, Perhaps in wait for me! I paused and gulped, a tad distraught... But just a tad, mind you... I wasn't scared or overwrought, But did what I must do... I stayed subdued yet stayed alert... I looked both left and right And to make sure I wasn't hurt, I ran with all my might! Then, suddenly, the tiger stood As if to block my path... As if he owned the neighbourhood And thought he'd have a laugh! He glared at me, I stared at him... Oh, dear, he did look vexed! I must have feinted! Things looked grim! God knows what happened next... Denis Martindale, copyright, March 2011. The poem is based on the magnificent painting by Stephen Gayford called 'Jungle Prince II'. More Stephen Gayford poems here: denis-martindale-dot-blogspot-dot-com