Amazon Lodge
(2/2001)
 |
| February, 2001 ar the Amazon Lodge (Peru) 125-miles from Iquitos |
We were
happy enough there at the Amazon lodge—
detached from civilization;
In
the hammocks in the afternoons...!
Under
the mosquito netting in our beds, in our basket
like cabin—likened to a straw pup
tent—at night!...
Together
with the door slightly opened:
Snug,
like a bug under cool sheets in the heat of the night!
In
its un-silent, and unseen, wonderful darkness—
The
long burning gaslights from the wooden walkway,
Jaggedly
crossed—from there to here!
The
night noises were unending—in particular, the: birds,
Insects:
monkeys and all; especially the crickets:
Singing,
talking, chanting, whispering, bugs chewing!
Rosa
loved to hear them at night, they made pleasant
noises: if you love the Amazon!
And
we laughed together—her in her dressing gown,
Me
in my mosquito socks—as I often, too often, I moved
about: seemingly, aimlessly, trying to
get settled—
So,
I often thought: if she often thought:
‘How
much room is he going to give me tonight—and
where do I put myself?’
And
then she held me tight as if she heard that thud
from the puma, we had seen nearby the lodge,
The
first night… (?) And then like so often, she was
out:
completely out, like a burnt-out light.
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Stride
of the Amazon Puma
(2/2001)
 |
| The Canopy in the Amazon, of Peru, 90-feet up/5:00 PM. |
The puma did no offences against us, whose
huge pug marks,
hid a scare—
She
followed us from a safe distance, walking back to our lodge,
from the towering canopy, a hundred and
twenty feet tall
That
overlooked a sea of green…
Allegedly
a criminal puma of the deep Amazon—she had now
repeated a number of times—this walk,
her pace appearing
as if out of nowhere, as if spying on
her enemy.
Her
excessive intruding didn’t appease our guide, Anselmo!
He
had neither fiche, nor dossier on her: yet he knew—and that was
all he knew, is that we were in her
territory…
Anselmo,
he looked young, wise and cynical, and somewhat
doubting our way back.
It
was getting dark, she looked almost black, and she had a huge
head, that swayed low, bobbed, to and fro,
when she moved.
Finally
after two hours time, we saw her going away, into the tall
grass, that lead into the heavy and tall
timbers, and the thick
bush—
It
was obvious, the late evening shadows of the trees, and solid
formations about, blinded the puma,
having camouflaging
effects…!
Not
a puma to be photographed, rather one to be left alone!
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