Dancing Tiger
Performers painted like tigers and hunters dance to drumbeats
on the fourth day of Onam, an annual harvest festival of Kerala.
Dancing Tiger
Many farms have been buried,
yet the harvest fest is dazzling.
He’s one among the hundreds
of human tigers in the street.
A coat of varnish and tempera
powder conceals his skin. Pain,
paint odor, itch…he endures.
Drumbeats begin. He pounces,
shaking his hippo-belly. A
tumor also dances like death.
His fatigue and nausea vanish
in the artistic fervor. There’re
hunters with bows and arrows,
dancing around him. As night
grows, waves of music abate
to end. Spectators go home
with the stars. Now he sits
in sweat under the bare sky.
First published in Typehouse Literary Magazine
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a
Premium Membership.
