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Marry your lover too soon after your husband has passed away

And you could die of tiger fright. They have these unfathomable eyes.

Their lean stripes, imagine them. How they slide between

Poles. Shaman-masked, marked with ancient writing.

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Make offering unto the tiger, before you mount your motor-bike,

For in myth he would offer his back only to Bonbibi,

The Lady of the Forests, or to Durga as her vahan. Durga

The Invincible. Markings may remind you of a lightning strike.

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And this champion of the unassailable force of the forest

Chained for the tourists to stroke nevertheless retains that spirit

That awes us so that we see on his forehead the sign of a king.

In his stripes I recognise the potent strength of Julian.

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To chain the truth empowers the truth. Let no pathetic

Image of his meagre environment alter the vigour

Of his inspiration. Julian is the tiger. For when you ensure

The seepage of what must be told, your leak becomes a roar.

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