Princely Panther-son

For my wonderful feline companion of my youth, Gabriel...and my nanny Heather (my first -- tuxedo persian() the only (p*****s)  i ever liked...

 

Pristine white, this playful

             lithe and limber panther-son,

on window sill, head through the curtains

                        tilted to the mid-morning drinking the sun;

 

He is my prince, tho' without yet full of

lions' pride,

         domesticated feral - but a dervish and protector

from irritant buzzing of horse-flies...

 

Adopted from brink of cradle road-kill,

     nursed with a young boy's defiant determination,

          battle scars and bully's bites

rinsed and held in sleep to heal,

 

a gift for a young man,

        learning that leopards have spots that will not change

and this ghost colored ki'n walks through to his heart

 

his spots may not be visible,

showing him the truth of where it is

                                home and human and wonderfully unfractured

    by unforgiving fate because

                                 to love is to feel (all that is), which brings to 

life

the magic of unconditional

unwavering family, the manna of greater histories ...

 

named after an angel that gave a virgin

hope and love, my

         panther prince, my brother,

my friend who passes my days with a smile,

peridot-eyed bright,

 

accompanies me thru maturity's odd

stretch and slept with my fears

                         calmed my young troubled

nights... purring in my soul,

still my brother     cyclone

      in those distant windstorms and rain

 

still on shoulders ride

                       princely panther-son

we carried a strong form

     and our quiet life's pain...

                 (always...

with pride of lions inside...)