MULAN the tigress

Abdullah Sholet became her full time carer
25 years old and apparently
Ready to take on a job of looking after a tiger cub
At an Islamic school where both could be
MULAN Jamilliah a Bengal tiger
Given to the school in Malang
Which is where Abdullah worked
And he decided to
Look after the little cub
And clearly he had a view
Which included much compassion
He began to understand
He spent his days with the tiger cub
Feeding her by hand

What he had was patience
And power of thought and care
Really a lot of savvy
And he did prepare
With perception and clear thinking
With prudence and forethought
Enlightened by the little soul
And together they were caught

Up in a relationship of each
Wanting a need
Level headed and grounded
Both wanting to succeed
The tiger she grew larger
She was immensely strong
And so began a friendship
That may have just felt wrong

To others, but to these two
Their friendship did belong
In each other’s expectation
Of course it all felt wrong
To some to those unfeeling
Their resourcefulness was there
A habitual kind of being
Together and to share

The whimsical the preposterous
The significance of it all
Could it be escapism
And perhaps fantastical
So much substance to this liason
A tigress and a man
Each with a conviction
That appears a solid plan

Ofcourse it is a challenge
But it seems to be
Working with the whole truth
The complete veracity
It’s spontaneous and unprompted
It’s become normality
Almost predetermined
And working resolutely