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2/3/14
Let the Tigers Go
Life stalks me like a mighty tiger
Bounding across the savanna of my days
Threatening to overtake me,
to make a meal of me.
With his amazingly fierce talons and rippling muscles,
his pursuit is relentless.
There is no escape
Entering the jungle, I flee
hoping to vanish, elude him unseen.
Impossible, and I know it.
The towering figs, palms and rubber trees
Even in their grandeur, are only obstacles
Blue and gold Macaws, colorful Gouldian finches
A brilliant blur with no form.
Mangoes and Passion fruit hanging in luscious abundance,
swallowed in haste and never tasted.
The forest clears and I burst onto the scene
Atop the fabled cliff, my toes curling to prevent my headlong fall.
The tiger is coming and nowhere to go, but down.
Terrified I cling to vines and roots,
the sweat moistening my grip.
Muscles screaming, I begin my descent.
A huge bellow arises behind me as the great beast nears his prey.
Scrambling downward, I begin to pray.
And then I hear the answering roar of the Tiger beneath.
She is waiting, sure that her mate will provide sustenance this day.
And then, and then, when there is nowhere to go
I remember to breathe.
Time stretches to accommodate this grand moment.
A rocky cave mouth appears, as if by some magic or glamour.
Entering, I have Now.
It is vast and filled with joy.
Vast and filled with possibility.
With fulfillment and sensation.
With love and pain and color and calm.
Let the tigers go. Let the tigers go…
Breathing in I am aware of running
Breathing out I notice what I miss
Breathing in I take my breath
Breathing out I enter life
May this content benefit you, those you love, and all sentient beings, everywhere.
-Ellen Adelman
© Ellen M. Adelman PhD 2013, poetry and photography all rights reserved.
For more information visit www.sagehealinginstitute.com.
Mind Body Intelligence™, and MBI® are trademarks of Ellen M. Adelman PhD and the Sage Healing Institute.
