Panda

Thursday May 23, 2013

Giant Panda, 1951 (population boom in China)

Male, 93 kg

Time to Journey

Far away

Leaving all

For something

New

Lumbering around

Not knowing

Where to Go

Strange Places

Creepy

To my Ears

Keep

Shaking Head

Back and Forth

To Make Sure

No Attacks

Are Near

So Scared

Not Running

Scared of

Losing my

Strength

Tiring

Tiring

Want to Stop

But must

Keep Going

Find the

Perfect Place

How Long

Have I been

Moving

I want to

Collapse

But I need

To Find

A Good Place

Foreign

Territory

What goes on

Here

I see

Massive Stone

That seems

Solid and

Unyielding

But

An Opening

Reveals

A dark inside

Should I

Dare to

Go In

I am

Tired

Weighing

Possibilities

Animal Attack

Fainting

Dying of Cold

Going On

Starvation

I Go In

Dark

Musty

Foreign Smell

But not

Cold or

Drafty

No Sounds of

Threat

I decide to

Stay here

For the

Night

And Rest

my

Aching Body

Worrying

About my

Future

Hard to

Rest

But

Eventually I

Drift...

Drift...

Drift...

Off into

Sleep

Wish I could

Stay in

Sleep

Forever

Open Eyes

See Light

Infiltrating

Safe Rock

Stretch

Sore

Rock on my

Paws

Walk to

The Opening

And peer

Outside

Threats

Sounds

Smells

Should I

Leave this

Safe sanctuary

I Stay There

Thinking

Missing my

Safe Home

But

Decide

to Find

Another

Perfect Place

This Place

Isn’t It

Will Find

Others like me

Outside

Eating

Little Strips

of Bamboo

Not much Left

How Many

Days

Has it

Been

I Keep

Resting in

Caves

But none Feel

Right

None Feel Like

Home

So I Keep

Wandering

Finding the

Perfect Place

The Replacement

Lumbering Around

Listening

I hear

Voices

So similar

To those

A Couple of

Days Ago

Those Voices

Those creatures

Controlling the Monsters

Those Humans

I am Scared

Frozen

Should I

Stay or Go

Can they

Hear Me

“There should be one somewhere”

one says

“Big creatures

They can’t hide for long”

says the second

“Not able to camouflage

this will be easy”

the first agrees

They Crash

Through the

Trees

Nearer

And Nearer

And Nearer

To Me

And then

A Shout

From the

First

“There’s one!”

And I

Run

Run

Run

For my

Life

I have seen

What these

Creatures can

Do with

Their Machines

I Want to

Live

So I Run

They Crash

Cracking

Splintering

Bamboo

My Food

My Life

Holding

Metal

Sticks

One holds

the Stick

Up

Directs at

Me

And moves

His

Finger

CRACK

Loud

Noise

Deafens my

Ears

“Darn, I missed”

the one that Shoots

Says

“I’ll try”

Says the other

Another

BOOM

CRACK

Ahead of me

The Bamboo

Falls to the

Ground

Broken in

Two

Running

Running

Running

BOOM

CRACK

BOOM

CRACK

Bad Sticks

Bad Metal Sticks

BOOM

CRACK

BOOM

CRACK

I Race

Trying to find

A Place to

Hide

I see a Cave

I skid to

Turn

And Hide

Shivering

Cowering

The BOOM

CRACKS

Are Suddenly

Gone

“Aw, let him go”

I Hear

“Yeah, there are probably

Plenty more Out There”

another says

“We gotta work on our

Aim”

Says the first

“We could’ve gotten him

More money in our

Pockets”

agrees the other

“Lucky fella

Hope he Understands

What a Blessing we have

Given him”

they Laugh