literature

The Caiman and the Jaguar

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Published: Nov 2, 2009

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Literature Text

The mother guarded

Her precious brood
Ready for life

The eye fled the mantle of dusk
A rare dry season reprieve
From its fire

Cupped in moonlight
A terra borne infant wailed
And across the basin
Echoed

The encounter was brief
But impressed
She raised defences
Squat form tense
And he rolled in leaf litter

He never touched
Lest she flare
But umber eyes adored
The sleek ectotherm
Powerful in essence
Yet still dwarfed by her peers

The nuisance scared sustenance
Blind to her lethal potential
Yet jaws remained bound
But to warn
As crimson orbs
Guarded clumsy paws
That ruined her feast

They had grown together
Apart
Despite her wishes
As she woke
Each morning
To fur brushing slates
Tan on ebon
And spots

She fascinated him
And from afar
Or not so
Was adored
He was once overcome
And swam to her flank
Wet whiskers on hard scales
She had not growled
And he had stood vigil at her side since

Ten years passed
And curiosity tore at him
"Why do you not take a mate?"
She had smiled in her way
And returned to her cove
"I have never been without one."
He stared after his retreating Queen
And smiled in his way
That she cared
Was his greatest treasure

Another dry season came
And still she remained barren
And he pursued no feline of his own
Asked for no brood
For he minded naught
But for his reptile
As finally
Through passage of a decade
She sought his company too

Fifteen
And she was now twice his stride
Flesh unmarred by the ferocities
Of her kin
Or time
And her red eyes shone brighter
Each passing season
Then he had ever dreamt

The forest was never cool
But his heat warmed her side regardless
So she basked
Willed away the demons of the night
That would take him from her
And guarded him
With all her strength

The shot had been silent
But he soon felt his limbs give
As life's gift to him
Who he had so savagely defended
Was hauled away
Perfect snout marred by bands of grey

The drug wore off
And he followed their scent to a camp
Where nothing was left
But the secrets beneath her hide
Picked clean by the vultures

What was one in several thousand?
If it could benefit one in six billion?
Nature's plague had rid him of his life
Without even touching him

Twenty-Three
And his flesh sags
Ravaged by time and grief

A new dawn blesses their cove
As he is finally released

To join his heart

Commission art for the poem by the lovely *MoonsongWolf:[link]

This wasn't as spur-of-the-moment as it appears.

I've had the idea to do a Jaguar and Black Caiman impossible romance thing for a while. The idea really appeals to me. And one day in the far distant future I may wish to write a short story for these two. I may even name them.

For now they will have to be content with my terrible poetry. I have no idea if this is even the correct category. What type of poem is this? Spoken Word, Sonnet, Open?

The only pattern this poem even has is the paragraph length, going 1-10 sentences, then back down to one again

The Story
A young female caiman emerges from the nest, and across the basin, a young male jaguar is also born. A brief encounter when still young introduces them to one another, and begins the males interest in her. As they grow, he watches her from the cover of the forest and the banks, never far away. Though he scared away her food, she never attacked or scolded him, and from there their relationship grows. He would sometimes watch over her sleeping, or sleep by her, so they were fur to scales come morning.

Over time his fascination grew, and one day he found himself overcome by his need for her, and swam to her. She did not push him away, but instead accepted him. Ten years old, and she has yet to breed. This is because she has already accepted the Jaguar as her mate, and wants nothing to do with the other caimans. They are content together another five years, happier each day.

She realises what she has, and vows to protect him with her life, but is then stolen away herself, jaw bound shut, her protector tranquilised and left.

When the drug wears off he tracks them to their camp, but is too late, and finds her remains cast aside, the poachers gone with their trophy of her hide, one of the few caimans destroyed to benefit the pockets of one person in six billion. He is lost without her, and wittles away the final years of his life in sorrow, finally dying 8 years on, on the bank of their cove.

THE END

I was really tempted to write them both as females, but it would have been very confusing since I would have been referring to them both as 'she'. This worked better. And I'm aware they can't speak, but it's nice to think they can communicate with one another. In their own ways.

This poem is my way of supporting romances that occur despite unseemly odds (in this case species, though that's not to say this poem is used to support people who decide it's okay go go out and rape animals. I'm against that sort of thing. As far as odds defying proper two-sided relationships go though, I'm all for it), and is also a stab at the trade of animal skins and other parts. I can understand killing animals for food, heck, I'm not exactly a vegetarian myself, but slaughtering them in their thousands to make coats and handbags? Humans disgust me.

The Black Caiman was almost hunted to extinction for this trade in the 60's. They are beautiful creatures that rarely harm humans and I see no sense in it. If people want to slaughter animals in their thousands then fine, go make some giant japanese jellyfish coats, there are billions of the giant things and I don't want them killing off all the sea life.

I hope you enjoyed my poor excuse for a poem

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