Rousseau and the Tiger

 

This is the Tiger and this is Rousseau.

This is the picture I painted to show
That this is the Tiger, so supple and eager.
And this is the customs man, suited and meagre,
And what do we wonder and what do we know?
This is the Tiger and this is Rousseau.

I am Rousseau and I painted the Tiger,
The Tiger so fierce and the Tiger so free.
This is the jungle, the terrible tangle,
And these are the teeth that will torture and mangle,
And all of it up on the wall as you see.
This is the Tiger and this? This is me.

This is the man and he works in an office,
And this is the beast so unhuman and fine.
This is the picture. I painted the picture.
With cunning and craft I effected the capture,
I conjured the colour, I dreamed the design,
And I painted the Tiger. The Tiger is mine.

--John Whitworth