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By Francisco X. Alarcón

some say
I’m now almost
extinct in this park


but the people
who say this
don’t know


that by smelling
the orchids
in the trees


they’re sensing
the fragrance
of my chops


that by hearing
the rumbling
of the waterfalls


they’re listening
to my ancestors’
great roar


that by observing
the constellations
of the night sky


they’re gazing
at the star spots
on my fur


that I am and
always will be
the wild


untamed
living spirit
of this jungle


Francisco X. Alarcon, "Jaguar" from Animal Poems of the Iguazu. Copyright © 2008 by Francisco X. Alarcon.  Reprinted by permission of Lee & Low Books.
 

Source: Animal Poems of the Iguazú (Lew & Low Books, 2008)

Poet Bio

Francisco X. Alarcón
A prolific writer for adults and children, Francisco X. Alarcón was born in California and grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. Alarcón returned to the United States to attend California State University at Long Beach, and he earned his MA from Stanford University. Latino and gay identity, mythology, the Nahuatl language, Mesoamerican history, and American culture are all portrayed in Alarcón’s writing. He served as director of the Spanish for Native Speakers Program at the University of California at Davis, and taught for the Art of the Wild workshop and the California Poets in the Schools program.  See More By This Poet

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