Jaguar

--Francisco X. Alarcon

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