The boar got fat on the richness of the land,
until his girth was too much for his frame to hold
and he returned drowsily to his mother
with the hope for milk from teats long sucked dry
At his back every minute of every day
the shadow of the tiger uncaged.
no longer was he nimble, and he couldn’t turn his head
to see his passing fancies double back upon him
revenge in their heart and daggers in their hands
the tracks that lead him deeper still into the jungle
may have been his own, but still he fret
the shadow of the tiger uncaged
“There’s nothing to fear,” He told himself twice over breakfast
“All of this running will only leave me weaker,
for when the real striped menace appears, I should rest.”
but his restlessness was too much a habit,
thinner still his fearful body grew in
the shadow of the tiger uncaged
Then one day
the boar
stopped.
Eating.
Drinking.
Running.
He stopped all but the living.
And there before him came a great and powerful Tiger who said,
“Why did you run away from me, pig?”
to which the boar replied,
“Why were you chasing me?”
to which the Tiger replied,
“I wasn’t.”
The pig closed his eyes
and there he lie within
the shadow of the tiger uncaged

Happy New Year to all my inu-tachi. The future is what we make of it!