Jaguar
BY FRANCISCO X. ALARCÓN
some say
I’m now almost
extinct in this park
but the people
who say this
don’t know
that by smelling
the orchids
in the trees
they’re sensing
the fragrance
of my chops
that by hearing
the rumbling
of the waterfalls
they’re listening
to my ancestors’
great roar
that by observing
the constellations
of the night sky
they’re gazing
at the star spots
on my fur
that I am and
always will be
the wild
untamed
living spirit
of this jungle
Francisco X. Alarcón in his poem “Jaguar” reflects the modern day world and its unfulfilled need for the environment’s preservation.
From a jaguar’s point of view, it recognizes its own endangerment and the lack of understanding society has for its beautiful wildlife areas, such as its home. This poem stems from a series of poems called “Animal Poems of the Iguazu”, Iguazu being a park in Argentina and Brazil to thousands of tourists. As the area has slowly been filling with more and more people, the place has been displayed as less of a “wild” environment, but rather a place packed with change and the opposite of preservation. Placing the world as its audience, the jaguar wants us to understand the tremendous loss and major disconnect it would be for society to look past this issue before it is too late.
This poem contains six stanzas with three lines in each, no punctuation used throughout. Starting in the third stanza, an ABAB pattern occurs with the first phrases, “that by…” alternating with “they’re”. The use of short syntax along with short stanzas creates a relatively simple form of English, so that people of all ages can have a chance at understanding. The simple language can benefit younger readers as well as individuals without a complex understanding of the dialect, expanding the audience the message can protrude to. These methods are also utilized to create concise, to the point comparisons between what people deem as mere sensory aspects, to the jaguar’s connection to his ancestral importance. The point of view being from a jaguar, rather than a human, creates a bond between the reader and the jaguar,
The jaguar does not use a condescending tone however, but speaks in a firm, hopeful tone, proving its greater outlook on the environment in general, as well as for its fellow extinct or soon to be extinct species. In the second stanza, the jaguar directly addresses the audience on our differing views, saying “…but the people who say this don’t know…”, exploring the gap between its knowledge and society’s. As the stanzas continue, the use of “they’re” also directly addresses people that have neglected the true beauty behind the environment, enforcing a focus to us that needs to be pushed like that, as time is of the essence for creatures like the jaguar. At the every end of the poem, the jaguar says “…I am and always will be the wild untamed living spirit of this jungle” to hold his legacy standing–even if it itself is not physically present as time goes on, the existence of it will always hold true, just as long as nature is preserved.
The theme of senses is heavily used throughout the stanzas. As said before, the ABAB pattern alternates phrases in their first lines, but also uses a play on words when describing what people do in a scene of nature. Stanzas three and four go from “smelling” to “sensing”, stanzas five and six going “hearing” to “listening”, and stanzas seven and eight going “observing” to “gazing”. This play on verbs is to enhance the acts of society in the wild for what they are really sensing around them, going beyond what meets their surface level observations. The jaguar wants deeply for us to recognize the significance history has brought to homes like its, and for so much alteration and superficial awareness to this issue, nature may soon become too late to collectively preserve.
Scenic descriptions are also implemented to a great degree, as the main theme is to bring awareness and understanding to the beauty of the outdoor environment. Saying lines like “…the orchids in the trees…”, “the rumbling of the waterfalls”, and “the constellations of the night sky” helps the reader envision specific aspects of the jaguar’s home, getting a feel for what is in jeopardy, what could be lost forever if nature were to not successfully be preserved. The jaguar chooses to use specifics to further exhibit the uniqueness and delicacy homes such as his have, and how these environmental aspects could be lost in addition to his own species.
Due to the constant degradation made by certain human activities, the environment is what is taking on the obstruction. This in turn poses deathly threats to many species as well as mankind, though mankind has yet to recognize this as they have not gone extinct yet, whereas many animal species have. The jaguar is used as the speaker to speak on behalf of both endangered animals and nature itself, as these voices suffer to be able to speak up, nor can they with society. Preservation to nature is what needs to happen at a rapid pace, as the longer time holds out, more change and destruction is made upon the world.