The Art of Dreaming Tigers

image from the Tigers in Crisis website

for Kerry's prompt at Toads : In Other Words - to substitute key words in a title. I chose The ____ of Dreaming________ and tigers popped into my head. 

Place your tiger peacefully

at the edge of a pond,

so he can drink easily.

Let his stomach be full from whatever small creature

became his supper.

This will help him relax.

Let there be no roadways or poachers

within a thousand miles.

Bring his mate close by; let them watch

their cubs leaping and tussling in the grass.

Let him lay his head down, close his eyes,

and sleep without fear.

Let his dreams be all of sunny days 

and no humans, anywhere.

As this is a dream,

may his family thrive and multiply.

All tigers will birth and raise their families.

They will never be shot, starved

or driven from their lands.

We will dream us a world

where there are four thousand tigers, 

instead of four hundred.

Since this is a dream,

let's put intelligent people 

in charge of the world,

who will protect all wildlife 

and the earth's fragile eco-system

of which, we are only so slowly beginning 

to understand,

we are a part.

At some point, you may lose track of

whether you are dreaming this tiger,

or the tiger is dreaming you.

He is beautiful.

It works out,

either way.

Notes: from Tigers In Crisis

almost all Siberian tigers (350 - 450 in total) live in southeastern Russia
- former range included China, Korea and Mongolia

13 feet long, up to  700 pounds

an endangered species (like just about every other wild creature)

poached for fur and body parts, to be used in Chinese medicine
(even though this is now unlawful in China)

because a single tiger can bring up to $50,000 on the international market, the practice continues

for the ones who escape the hunters, habitat loss accounts for further decimation of their numbers, like other endangered species

logging - both legal and illegal - encroaches and divides their habitat, separating them from each other, and making it easier for poachers to access them