Tiger Tiger

Green-gold eyes in golden head,
velvety paws that silently tread
and thread a way through bamboo tall.
unknowing, he heeds an ancient call.

Minature tiger, lithe and free,
stalks in a jungle fashioned by me,
then he, the hunter, crouching low,
attacks a poppy, his fiercest foe.

Age-old dreams of forests green,
memories of things unknown, unseen,
have been a spur to play a game,
and prey on poppies - to his shame.