A. R. Ammons(1926–2001)
Pet Panther
My attention is a wild
animal: it will if idle
make trouble where there
was no harm: it will
sniff and scratch at the
breath's sills:
it will wind itself tight
around the pulse
or, undistracted by
verbal toys, pommel the
heart frantic: it will
pounce on a stalled riddle
and wrestle the mind numb:
attention, fierce animal
I cry, as it coughs in my
face, dislodges boulders
in my belly, lie down, be
still, have mercy, here
is song, coils of song, play
it out, run with it.