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| About the Tasmanian tiger (click) |
Tasmanian Tiger, (Wolf)
My reputations fierce,
outward appearance
a defense, a sheltering
for if you had taken the time,
looked into my eyes,
ignored battle scars, set jaw,
you might have glimpsed
the me inside,
shy and solitaire -
may have fended off fate
and sepia photographs
that mystify, more than reveal.
by Margaret Bednar, December 20, 2018
This Tasmanian "Tiger" was hunted to extinction as farmers believed their chickens were threatened. And some of them were, but they were trigger happy and humans obliterated this species. It was actually a marsupial - not related to a tiger or a wolf. It is actually closely related to the Tasmanian Devil.
Expedition Unknown (Josh Gates) had an episode exploring the belief this animal may still be alive in Australia - but very elusive... the finding was inconclusive but very intriguing. HERE
Linked with "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Fireblossom Friday - Lament for the Thylacine"
12 comments:
I am LOVING that third stanza!
That ending is exactly so.
and the sadness is... will we ever know... just like we'll never sea the great auk...
Ah, this is the true Thylacine! Sad that the early settlers didn't understand.
Sadly in the early days no thought was given to the uniqueness of Australia's fauna and flora when settlers were struggling to make a living in a strange and hostile environment. Apart from the Thylacine the native full blood aborigine people were wiped out as well!
A tender poem, Margaret, a metaphor for all native peoples and species that have been driven to extinction. It’s a shame that none of the early settlers were interested in anything that was already there – they just wanted to make it their own and change it to suit themselves. You’ve captured all of that in the lines:
‘…if you had taken the time,
looked into my eyes,
ignored battle scars, set jaw,
you might have glimpsed
the me inside,
shy and solitaire’.
I loved your poem.
the me inside....I think that is all we want, really. to have the inside seen. Excellent and sad poem.
Wonderful poem!
I totally agree with ..."sepia photographs that mystify, more than reveal."
I enjoyed reading this one!
Wonderful third stanza, Margaret. Beautiful, but sad.
If only people took more time to look into the eyes of their victims, the world would be a better place.
If only we could truly see and hear what the eyes hold. This is beautiful.
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