Tiger Family Poem by Denis Martindale

When tigers do what tigers do,
Then offspring gather round,
The sun and moon above to view,
As cubs walk on the ground.
The countryside is their domain,
As parents teach them all,
For there are skills that each must gain,
Not just to fight and brawl.

Both tiger cubs have much to learn,
More than to eat and drink,
For there are lessons to discern,
And wondrous thoughts to think.
How parents help each cub to live
For more than just today,
And times to take and times to give,
No matter, come what may.

The seasons change, yet life goes on,
In Winter, streams are cold,
Cubs drink until their thirst has gone,
Not needing to be told.
But when the years have vanished, too,
The cubs are cubs no more,
No longer doing what cubs do,
As tigers now for sure!


Denis Martindale. December 2021.


The poem is about the magnificent
wildlife painting Tiger Family by the UK
wildlife artist Stephen Gayford.