Tigers and Toothpicks

I've been very Blogger-slack for the last few months, and I don't have much to show you, so I thought I'd post a poem that I wrote in May 2007.

TIGERS AND TOOTHPICKS

I searched through my stash, box after box
I'd found rabbits and hounds and even a fox!
But no sign of my tiger was there to be found
He'd slipped away quietly, perhaps gone to ground.

I searched through the reds, the browns and the green
Not a sign of the tiger could even be seen
He was with the big bear, all folded and pressed
Ah! Here he is! No, that's my unfinished vest.

I needed that tiger to make a new quilt,
to go on the bed that my husband had built.
It was made out of wood all golden and brown
We couldn't have bought one if we'd searched the town!

The bedhead was glued with polished toothpicks
to look like a fence, made out of sticks
An Indian village was painted above
But it didn't go with my quilt of the Dove!

Two meters of fabric I'd carefully pieced
A sight for the eyes, a real visual feast!
With magnificent stripes and large padded paws,
from which extended sharp shiny claws.

On his leafy green jungle he'd proudly prowl
You could look at his teeth and perhaps hear him growl.
Oh where are you tiger? I won't make you again –
But I will do a lion, with a big woolly mane!

© Lindi J May 2007