My Pet Tiger…Unleashed
A poem
Published in
Mar 8, 2023
Poem inspired by NPR’s prompt “I would like to” about restorative naps. Here’s to my recurring dreams about tigers!
I would like to nuzzle a tiger
Wrap my arms around her neck and move as she moves
Body undulating over muscular limbs
I would like to clutch a tiger
Until her mass becomes my own
Until my eyes can pinpoint
A jackal’s breath, its twitching chest a mile away
Until my ears can sense a twig snap
A hoof tap on dry brush
Until I can own the unrelenting bite, the knives for teeth
Until I can unleash the jaws that stay clenched in waking life
I would like to harness
The prowess, the power
The ferocity, the fearlessness
Of the deadly striker
Who can take down anything
Who only emerges
From me
In a nap.
