Time for Some Poetry

The funny thing about potently lyrical hip-hop is that it really is just poetry set to a beat. Listening to Heiruspecs' "A Tiger Dancing," I was blown away not only by the lyrics, but also the beat, and especially the final (and only) chorus. Just listen to this masterpiece:

God damn.

So, taking some inspiration from this work, let's try some poetry today. It's been long enough since I decided to write anything that I expect this writing exercise to be rather productive, though possibly silly or cliche.

And let's be real, reading The Marginalian probably had a significant amount of influence on this decision. If you haven't visited that site before, you should.

Move, Tiger

Move, tiger
Pick up your paws
Let's dance
Tame me as I tame you
Each domesticated if but only for a moment
Crouch low, glide beneath canopy
Snarl, gnash your teeth
I puff chest, shoulders
Clench teeth in return
Lean forward
Stomach in, lithe, flowing free
Feet shuffling to an unheard, unnamed beat
Showing no fear
Spitefully pressing beyond limbic protest
Our eyes fixed only ever on the other
Ignorant of quicksand, viper, gnarled root
Finally, we achieve
Our balance
Our equilibrium
Our stasis
Our symmetry
This shared, sacred movement
Old as life itself
Recurring eternally, incapable of cessation
Never a tragedy
But always a comedy of mutual fear
As I become you again, and you me
As we realize we have danced this dance before
As you realize your true fear
As I realize my true shame
That you could be me, one day, with time
That I was you, once, and could return
Recalling a distant era
Primordial, before thought
One of sense only
When I was terrified
Snarling and gnashing
At a beast so alien to me
Beyond a limited comprehension
So, move, tiger
Pick up your paws
Dance this wondrous, endless dance with me
Let us bring a sense of wonder to
This jungle
This green desert
This great labyrinth of red loam and timber
This land with no sun, only shade
Exchange fixed gazes between us
As we lean and bend together
Fading back into vine and brush
Never to see the other again
Made better by our touchless embrace