Tiger Drinking at Forest Pool

BY RUTH PADEL

Water, moonlight, danger, dream.

Bronze urn, angled on a tree root: one

Slash of light, then gone. A red moon

Seen through clouds, or almost seen.

 

Treasure found but lost, flirting between

The worlds of lost and found. An unjust law

Repealed, a wish come true, a lifelong

Sadness healed. Haven, in the mind,

 

To anyone hurt by littleness. A prayer

For the moment, saved; treachery forgiven.

Flame of the crackle-glaze tangle, amber

Reflected in grey milk-jade. An old song

Remembered, long debt paid.

A painting on silk, which may fade.