Friday, January 24, 2020

Wild Fridays #3: Thought Provokers

Orphan in the Forest 
Laos 2005

Abandoned on his search, the venturer
stumbles into some village where
children are playing with a tiger.
Found five years before, a lamb-
like cub bleating with hunger
her mother killed by poachers.

Most of the time she forgets she's a tiger
and pretends to be a cat.
She won't be naughty while we're here.
Don't touch. She's not used to strangers.

Taking the children at their word
he kneels and faces the carnivore
surprised by her soft pink nose
vulnerable like a toy.
Then the head snares him –
planetary huge with black stripes.

Most of the time she forgets she's a tiger
and pretends to be a cat.
She won't be naughty while we're here.
Don't touch. She's not used to strangers. 


Waves of symmetry pulse from
her eyes, a force field into which
he sinks as the world dissolves.
How long does he hang there before
being snatched from the depths by
a parent dwelling on the forest's edge?


Most of the time she forgets she's a tiger
and pretends to be a cat.
She won't be naughty while we're here.
Don't touch. She's not used to strangers.


By Tony Page
from Back to Earth
(Melbourne, Hybrid Publishers, 2019)



I've known Tony since the early days of the Poets Union in Melbourne and we've had a long friendship (as I described a few years ago at Poets United). But until a couple of Sundays ago we hadn't seen each other for 18 years! He lived and worked overseas a long time, and since being back in Australia has continued to do a lot of travelling – was back from Ethiopia only a few days before we met up – while I live in a smallish country town in another State. But I came to Melbourne for extended Christmas-New Year holidays to reunion with family and old friends, and we managed to make it happen.

We met at noon and talked almost non-stop until 4.30, through lunch at one cafe and afternoon tea at another, plus a trip to the State Library of Victoria. I spent a lot of time in this library in the past, but it's recently been renovated – very beautifully! –  and Tony thought, correctly, that I'd love to see it. This photo of him was taken in the main reading room. (It was hard to get him to smile for the camera instead of clowning, but I finally captured him looking amused at my efforts.)


He gave me a copy of his last book, the one from which I've taken this lovely piece. It's a book of traveller's tales, with acute observations of places and peoples, and interesting reflections. This poem is my favourite. You can see the photo of the actual tiger near the middle of the book cover. Yes, it's a true story and it was Tony himself it happened to. He is still amazed and enraptured that the animal allowed him so close.

But why is this post sub-titled ‘Thought Provokers’ rather than ‘I Wish I’d Written this’? (I do wish it!) Well, there’s a bit of a sub-text, isn’t there? While it can be read literally and works that way, it also raises questions about such things as the safety of the unknown, the reaction to strangers, etc. ... particularly in that little chorus, so sweet and then suddenly unsettling.

Knowing the poet, I’m sure any such inferences were raised intentionally, but I haven’t discussed the possible interpretations with him. I don’t think one need be too specific, but rather entertain various possibilities as, well, sub-text. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the poem.


Wild Fridays don’t usually involve prompts (though it has been known to happen, and could again) so usually there is no Mister Linky on Fridays. We do, however, welcome discussion. Please use the Comments if you would like to share your views, ideas and reactions.

Material shared in this post is presented for study and review. Poems, photos, and other writings and images remain the property of the copyright owners, usually the authors. I used my own photos in this article.

25 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading this tonight. Your friend Tony kept me thinking all the time I read. I liked his ending, it was not a total surprise to me. It was nice that you two connected again, eighteen years was a long spell.
    I am thinking that tigers don't remember folk as well as elephants, at least I haven't heard of their memory of humans. Dogs sure do, perhaps lions.
    After eighteen years you two catching up would not run out of things to talk about.
    After ten years I ran across a high school friend. I had known she was eating across the room but I wanted to order before I came to her table. But I heard her squeal, she came right over to our table, exited she asked if I was Jim H. In just a little bit she was relating how she had me written in her 'deceased' book. Ha!
    ..

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    1. I hope you elaborate a bit on "her 'deceased' book", Jim. I can see a story there.

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  2. As a lover of everything feline, I enjoyed the poem very much, Rosemary. I felt so sorry for the orphaned tiger cub and angry at the poachers. What stood out for me were the lines:
    ‘Most of the time she forgets she's a tiger
    and pretends to be a cat.’
    Most of the time our cats forget they’re cats and pretend to be humans, with an occasional tiger impersonation! They’re actually scaredy cats that run away from strangers, like me. I also love the description of the ‘soft pink nose / vulnerable like a toy’ before the ‘head snares him – / planetary huge with black stripes’, and the reference to William Blake in ‘
Waves of symmetry pulse from / her eyes’.
    I also love the back story about your reunion with Tony.

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    1. Cats never pretend. They are. Really. If you don't believe me, just ask them. 😜

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  3. Rosemary- I love this poem, and your story surrounding it. How honored he is to have experienced a tiger up close! Thank you for the wonderful read.

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  4. The title of the poem pulled me in. In a way, I was hoping that something tragic--and unavoidable--had taken the orphan's mother. Not that this would be nice, but it would be a natural occurrence... and not the result of someone's greed and lack of compassion.

    The "Don't touch. She's not used to strangers." line carries and ominous tone. Every time I read it, I felt like looking over my shoulder, to make sure there weren't any strangers nearby.

    Oh, I can totally see you and Toni speaking for hours and hours. There is so much to say after 18 years! Enjoy the bookish gift.

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  5. I felt so much of the wild child moving about in that poem. A bit of Mowgli and Sharekhan in reverse. Instead of the boy in the forest with a tiger predator, it is the girl tiger in the village with man. With the exception that in this case it is the tiger who is the orphan. I feel like there is this subtle danger that pervades - she won't be naughty, but be wary, she's not used to strangers. I feel like the tiger could have actually been a woman. (As an aside, I have held a tiger cub, been licked by their rough tongue, nipped by their sharp teeth and amazed at the immense size of their paws. Even young they are powerful, playful and dangerous). Thank you for sharing this.

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    1. I, too, felt the "subtle danger" you speak of, always lurking in the lines...

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  6. ‘Stranger danger’ running thru my mind now ... fascinating post.

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  7. This is utterly poignant and stirred up some unexpected emotions in me, Rosemary!💝 I thought about how the words; "Don't touch. She's not used to strangers," could be applied to both the tiger and to children. How their personal space is important and that it's necessary to create awareness in them from the beginning so that they may better care for themselves .. or atleast be alert of the possible dangers lurking nearby. I also liked; "
Most of the time she forgets she's a tiger," which speaks to me of inner strength and the ability to fight when need be.

    Thank you so much for sharing Tony's work with us all!💝

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  8. Oh, I love the poem. "Don't touch. She's not used to strangers." Makes me think she would show her wild side. It makes me think a bit about how I react to people. I am usually friendly, talkative, but when I get my hackles up about bullying or the sing song of a liar my eyes speak first. I can't hide it, and I usually don't try. I'm so glad you got to catch up with your friend. What a beautiful moment in time. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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    1. Sometimes, getting our hackles up is the best defense mechanism. Especially for those of us who stay nearly eternally cheery and talkative. Every once in a while, the watchers must be reminded of the wild think feeding the cheeriness.

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  9. So glad you met up with an old friend and one so talented. Birds of a feather...
    I love his poem and agree it could have several interpretations. It stirred a little fear in me for the narrator and I wonder if I would have taken the chance of facing potential injury to see such a beautiful creature up close. To me the poem is also about life and its beautiful risks.

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    1. Myrna, "life and its beautiful ricks" reads like the title of a book I wold enjoy reading.

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  10. Aaaah! This poem really drew me in. It was powerful, mesmerising and and mystical. When you wrote that Tony had just returned from Ethiopia, my interest was piqued. It's where I grew up.
    I've been looking for something precious to celebrate my 50th year on the planet...and I believe I've just found it! Thank you, Rosemary!

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  11. Thanks everybody for the interesting and interested comments. I have read and enjoyed them all, and will also see any new ones that may come in – but have been travelling for the last several hours, and will have limited internet access for the next few days, so do forgive me for not replying to each of you individually. Glad you've enjoyed the poem and back story.

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  12. There was a warning in that "most" right from the start, implying there are times she remembers her wildness. I found myself empathizing a lot with the tiger, wondering how she felt in those forgetful times and what was there that made her forget. And of course, I couldn't help think about the things that made her remember too.

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    1. That "most" reads like a little growl, doesn't it?

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  13. He is lucky to have been able to spend a life traveling like that. Even my house kitty is “mostly” tame. She can turn on a dime and get so angry ... we watch her tail carefully. Thank you for sharing your friend.

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    1. I think most cats are "mostly" tame. I remember certain cat that would come to you, sit on your lap and purr and purr... Then, without warning, he would strike like a tornado with claws.

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  14. Beautiful poem It felt like the one who's different but still fitting in in his surroundings not knowing any better. His difference will flare up now and than.
    How great to meet up with a friend and catch up and talk for ages. I used to read travel books when I was young from Dutch writers. Sounds interesting

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    1. Hm... I just realized that I've never read a travel book. That might be something I enjoy. Thank you for planting the idea in my head, Marja.

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