Tendrils of fear
Prick my spine,
A tingle rippling
Outward.
I sense you,
My every move
Cautious,
Scared.
Trapped,
A human statue,
Frozen by fear
Unsure–
Like prey
Caught in
The crosshairs,
Feel the danger,
Not the direction.
Your tawny paw
Steps out
Revealing yourself,
From browns and greens,
Nature’s camouflage.
Amber eyes on me,
Unblinking,
Assessing,
Wild grace
In your gait.
I hold my breath,
Awed,
By your beauty,
My fear.
As you circle,
Deciding.
Muscles ripple,
You stretch out,
Swish your rope like tail,
Turn,
Disappearing into the wood
Like a ghost.
Hand to heart,
Feel thumping beat,
Reassurance.
I live to see
Another day.
Today, walking my dogs, I encountered what I’m now pretty sure was a young Florida panther sunning itself next to a neighbor’s house. Fortunately the pups didn’t see it and the wild beast seemed to have been well fed, or that could’ve been a very scary situation. Not wearing my glasses, something compelled me to look over at their house. For about 2 seconds I thought I was looking at a tree stump (hey, no glasses, remember?). After I blinked a second I realized that I was looking at a big effing cat…bigger than my 26 lb dog. Bobcats aren’t uncommon, so I thought maybe that’s what I saw…I mean, the thing was definitely big, had nice fangs…but one thing kept bothering me. Bobcats usually have spots/markings…this one was all tawny. I kept my dogs moving and got them past where the beast was sunning itself before they even noticed.
When I got home, I googled Florida wildlife…looked up bobcats…then clicked Florida panthers. Yup! It was a young panther. They are beautiful and wild, but I was so glad it wasn’t hungry. That could’ve really been scary. Well, ya’ll know me…never turn down a chance to create a poem out of a slightly scary & life threatening experience. What about you? Have you had any scary moments with nature? (And not the kind where you were on a long hike, needed to use the restroom and didn’t have one nearby…unless it involves using poison ivy as TP…LOL! Just kidding.)
And…in honor of love…and the unusual…I’m throwing down some old school jazz…complete with scatting (musical…not the creepy stuff) and improv. Yes, ladies and gents, that mean’s Ella’s in the house! She, like a fine wine, only got better with age…
theinnerwildkat 
I’ve nominated you for The Addictive Blogger Award – http://ourmulticolouredlife.com/2013/02/04/the-addictive-blogger-award/
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Thank you. I’m honored!
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Tahr could have been very dangerous, I’m glad nobody was eaten.
B
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Me, too!
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What a scary experience! I watch too many national geographic shows NOT to get scared in situations like that! Awesome poem 🙂
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Thanks, LJ. Freaked me out just a tad. Think I may now want to learn how to use a fire arm…just in case.
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Terrific poem to a beautiful pic. They are gorgeous animals, but quite dangerous too. Glad you did not get eaten!
Phil
http://www.blog.theregularguynyc.com
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LOL! They are definitely beautiful and deadly…and yeah, I’m quite relieved I was not it’s snack. 🙂 Glad you liked.
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Wow. So glad you and the dogs are fine! I’ve seen a bobcat on one of our trail runs but it was on the other side of the river so we felt free to stop and stare – very awesome to see them outside of a zoo.
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Yeah, it’s kind of cool when we see bobcats, too, but they usually haven’t gotten quite as close as this panther… the thing was only a little more than 50 feet away! Just glad I managed to draw the dogs away before they noticed.
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That poem is incredible.
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Thanks, Katie!
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Yowza
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Pretty much what I thought.
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What a mixed blessing, to see such an animal. Lucky. Scary. Beautiful poem.
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Exactly!
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Beautiful and exquisite poetry as always Kitt. Susie Lindiau posted a blog not long ago about the threat of wildlife in her area. I believe we’re seeing more and more of the larger species as a result of people bringing species into the country as exotic pets and then eventually turning them into the environment. That’s happening a lot in rural areas of the mid-west. Especially with large cats. I’m glad you and your dogs are safe.
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Thanks. These animals are indigenous to FL. I guess that’s one of the hazards to a state with lots of unpopulated areas.
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Ok YOU have panthers just roaming wild? Your tribute in your poem is amazing – very well written…the pic is stunning 🙂
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The pic isn’t mine. It was from a free to download nature site. I looked and couldn’t find anyone to credit. As for panthers…they’re rare now, but yes, you can…on occassion, find them running wild. Glad you liked the poem!
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GREAT poem! I could feel the fear curling through it all the way, very vivid image. I’ve never heard of Florida panthers before! Well, I guess you learn something new every day. 🙂
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The experience definitely scared me a bit. Completely unexpected…and my babies with me made me even more nervous. 🙂
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I totally understand. One hopes that their natural instincts would make them wary, but most dogs are either too friendly or too curious to understand that. My dog has a suicidal liking for barking at horses’ hooves. He completely ignores the rest of the animal and that they are about ten times bigger than he is. 🙂
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Yikes! But, yes. That’s it exactly.
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Love everything about this post – I love everything about the big cats – and I watch so much as I can on the Nature channel … great choice of music too.
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Thanks & thanks!
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Hi Kitt,
We often see black bears where I live. I’m used to seeing them now, but when I first moved here in 1998 from NYC it was a disturbing sight. Rather than lurk in the woods, one very large bear decided to walk down the middle of the street in front of my house. No one argued; everyone just got out of the way.
During our first summer here, we returned home from a day trip to find the entire front and side of our house covered with hundreds of ladybugs. They aren’t scary, of course, but when there are that many of them it’s really creepy. They were gone in a day or two. I Googled it and found that it’s not that uncommon. Apparently, they were attracted to the yellow color of the house. It hasn’t happened again. though. Nature can be strange.
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It sure can! We get swarms of love bugs around here. Those things freak me out. I think I’d find the bear more disconcerting, though. 🙂
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Your description of the panther in your poem is so lifelike! I have never seen a panther in person, but I have seen a cougar. I stayed afar, for safety.
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The panther is the cougar family, so you get it.
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Hi Kitt, thanks for your many visits to my site. Liked your tale of the cougar/panther/mountain lion (all names for the same critter). My only encounter was in the wild when trout fishing in the Montana mountains. You expect them there, not where you found yours!!!.
Best to ya!
Paul
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Thanks, Paul. I think that in the wild, I probably wouldn’t have been so put off because, as you said, they’re more expected in that sort of environment, not sunning next to a house in a suburban residential area.
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Looks dangerous! I think that would be one of the reasons why I must feel afraid living in another city. Here in the Manila one can’t see something like that. Only cockroaches and rats as big as cats LOL
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I remember those rats! Actually, in the PI my sister was bitten by a monkey…LOL! In the big cities you’re not likely to see danimals like that except at the zoo.
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Monkey? Where did it come from? I hate those big rats in the city, too.
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From over a neighbor’s fence.
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Wow. Nice neighbor. LOL
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Yes. Found out there were laws about how high the fence was supposed to be & that the monkey was supposed to be on a leash while outdoors. Obviously he failed both & my sister had to add injury in the form of rabie shots on top of the insult of the monkey bite.
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