Sophia Naz, Glen Ellen, California
Hundreds of foot soldiers comb
the jungle, bulldozers
clear it, sharpshooters, jeeps
camera traps, a thermal imagery drone
and five Indian elephants
in hopes of surrounding the tigress
so veterinarians riding elephants
can dart her
Thirteen moons live in the eyes of the tigress
At night she multiplies them in the ripples
subtracts herself in the water
At dusk they return
sweaty and exhausted
line up to guzzle water
and gobble down jalebis
Mother who outstrips them all
from you I learn camouflage, the line
hiding within the line
as glass in plain sight
on the night-wet grass
Reports stack up
on a plastic table
in boxes for sightings
the answers are all the same:
Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil
Zigzag, eye, Elle
these scratches on the surface
denote untraceable
writ of the tigress
Horse after horse
sacrificial bait to draw her
out she rips
devours, vanishes
The feat of the line
the line of the feet
disappearing race-
course of time.
Pushcart Prize nominee Sophia Naz has published in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Her work includes the poetry collections Peripheries, Pointillism, Date Palms and Shehnaz, a biography. Open Zero, her fourth poetry collection, was published by Yoda Press in September 2021.
Visit her at her website: www.SophiaNaz.com