This poem is about the Sabre-Toothed Cat, or Smilodon. I was tasked in English to write a poem about an animal, so I chose the Smilodon. Here is my poem.
Sabre-Toothed Cat/Smilodon
It hunts, stalks, in shadows it lurks, amber gaze stalking you through the trees
The ancient bison, ground sloth, all animals fall prey to its piercing teeth
It does not dare run, for the beast will easily catch it – it can only hide,
A bite to the throat secures the fate of the prey, yet the creature does not feast yet, does not rip the meat and swallow – it calls out, a soft, purr-like call,
A long, haunting call that summons two of the smaller beasts, hungry and yipping,
The adult hunts for food, and tears meat for the cubs, then takes her own share
They will play, as the beast will rear her cubs to hunt, to chase and stalk,
That sabre-toothed mother does not care for the hunt, does not care for the thrill, the bloodlust – only that her cubs can eat, and can grow to be as fierce as herself.
Why did I write this?
I wrote the Sabre-Toothed Cat poem because I love prehistoric animals, and I felt that it is portrayed as a monstrous predator who kills for the thrill of the hunt - yet sabre-toothed cat specimens have been found with life-threatening injuries during their life, and they only could have survived if their family had helped protect them. This shows that the cats were not vicious beasts but caring mothers, brothers, siblings, families, that did not care just for themselves, but for others, and showed love to one another. That, to me, is not just an animal, but an intelligent, sentient, empathetic and loving creature, that one day will be remembered not as a beast, but as a person in their own right.