The tiger and me

I met it in the vast greens

just beside the dark of the jungle.

It was crouching –

Its striped soul shining

against the dazzling sunlight.

The tall grasses

hid its tales of terror,

the sharp fangs and even sharper claws.

It was crouching,

moving, crouching again.

Closing onto its hapless prey

who looked about with timid eyes.

One leap would have ended it all –

One step from freedom,

One step from God.

The canines flashed

and claws shone into its eyes.

Just one stop from heaven,

Just one step from God.

My guns bammed first

and bullets found shelter in its heart.

With flashing eyes the tyrant looked

and limped at me unarmed.

In that raining sunlight,

with its blood stained coat,

and it fell thud to ground.

That night, we celebrated –

with chicken and lamb chops

and after countless retellings of the story

I was born a Demi-God.

The saviour of men

The hero of the land.

But deep within me

a little something was wrong –

In my plate was the same lamb

I had saved from those cruel claws.