Jungle Prince, Too

The tiger's stripes appeared like snakes Had crawled upon his sides, As if what liberty each takes, While in plain sight, none hides... As if to claim, we're clinging here, We won't be shooshed away! As if a fact that they'd made clear And had just cause to stay... Yet still he looked like royalty, With stature all his own, A regal stance though none could see A palace, court or throne... What need was there for human things, Proud symbols he thought vain, Yet sought by princes and by kings, Portraying each domain? He felt no need to carry gold, Or jewels in a crown... What use a sceptre he must hold? Such weights would slow him down... He'd surely starve in search of prey, They'd outrun him each time, So keep such trinkets, for I'd say, Right now, he looks sublime! Denis Martindale April 2017. A poem based on the magnificent Stephen Gayford wildlife painting. Google search phrases gayford prints and Stephen Gayford poetry and also for Heaven and Earth Designs...