Up Close And Personal Poem by Denis Martindale

White tiger eyes are prone to stare
At creatures all about,
Then he saw me and froze right there,
Just gazing, full of doubt...
It wasn't that I'm beautiful,
Or that I'm highly praised,
Or that, to him, I'm wonderful...
He just stood there... amazed...

Was it my camera or my hat
That made him stare at me?
Or something else that made that cat
Stay still and not to flee?
I'm not a six-foot gentleman,
Yet I stood up, of course,
The tiger didn't know God's plan
Meant me tall as a horse!

Was I the first man that he'd seen
Of all the human race?
The very first to intervene
As if I owned the place?
My camera clicked and caught him well,
That photo's on my wall,
My only trophy left to tell
He hadn't seen it all...