tiger tiger eyes so dead
fills my heart with so much dread
serrated teeth and rows of gills
stripes down your body marking off your kills
fourteen feet of slate grey death
slips silently by as I hold my breath
my nightmare is here, here in the flesh
but this time my dream could end in my death
time stands still for this brief interlude
no fear do I feel nor nothing so crude
as her cold eye perceives me, deciding my fate
am I a predator or merely fish bait?
her power is almighty, she has beauty and grace
I am the intruder, this is her place
I,ve never been one to believe in a god
or to travel in footsteps that others have trod
but here in the depths there is offered a clue
to my place in this world to be countered as true
perceptions are widened prejudices checked
a vision not lost once back on the deck
I was privileged to meet her down there in the dark
just a man with his questions and a fourteen foot shark

David Cartwright 95

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