a tiger on the prowl doesn’t reflect upon its tigerness
that’s what makes it feared and fearless
it doesn’t think it’s a tiger
it doesn’t know it’s a tiger
it certainly never wishes it was more tiger-like
it is tiger
a tiger
the tiger
questions of tigericity never arise
Taken in July of 2014 at Bharachukki Falls in Karnataka
Taken in May of 2017 in Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Taken in April of 2017 from the Chobe River on the Botswanan side
I believe this is an African Water Monitor, but I’m a neophyte naturalist.
Taken on Bohol in December of 2017
Tarsiers may be the product of a five-way orgy between an owl (eyes), a bat (ears), a frog (hands), a rat (tail), and a monkey (body), but they’re still pretty cute.
Taken in May of 2017 at Amboseli National Park in Kenya
Taken in May of 2017 at Amboseli National Park in Kenya
That mammal stands a mile tall.
Far too proud to take a fall.
It lumbers on til days end,
nudging family round the bend.
Water hole. Day’s close. Circled up.
In the center stands a pup.
On infirm legs, the youth shakes
as adults stomp and earth quakes.
Predators stalk, but today’s odds
favor the prey and defy the gods.
So now, tell me, Mister Giraffe:
How come I never hear you laugh?
Are you too tall to hear the joke,
or are you just an uptight bloke?
Human humor is elation
vis-a-vis
circumvented expectation.
Since I never do misconstrue,
I never need let them know I knew.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 