Ice and Fire
Jaguar
.
.
.
by Francisco X. Alarcón
some say
I’m now almost
extinct in this park
but the people
who say this
don’t know
that by smelling
the orchids
in the trees
they’re sensing
the fragrance
of my chops
that by hearing
the rumbling
of the waterfalls
they’re listening
to my ancestors’
great roar
that by observing
the constellations
of the night sky
they’re gazing
at the star spots
on my fur
that I am and
always will be
the wild
untamed
living spirit
of this jungle