THE PANTHER

His vision, from the constantly passing bars,

Has grown so weary that it cannot hold anything else.

It seems to him there are a thousand bars;

And behind the bars, no world.

As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,

The movement of his powerful soft strides

Is like a ritual dance around a center

In which a mighty will stands paralyzed.

Only at time, the curtain of the pupil lifts, quietly -,

An image rushes in,

Rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,

Plunges into the heart and is gone. (See Endnote # 1).

Much has been written about The Panther from the standpoint of the human attributes that are imposed upon the caged, once wild, creature.

I prefer to view the poem as symbolic of our own human conflict. We long for situations that we desire, more leisure time, quality of life, and the like. Too often we build emotional barriers (I can’t to that, I am afraid, etc) or find excuses (I can’t take off from work, I am too tired, etc) for not pursuing our desires. Self-inflicted internal barriers are akin to the bars of the panthers cage. However, they remain, at all times, bars of our own construction. Inevitably, like, the panther, we loose all desire. The excuse for not acting is accepted and the desire is lost to a fading memory.

Such a stagnation of desire is also evident in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. In my years as a criminal defense trial lawyer the following passage hung prominently in my office as a reminder against forestalling action. The passage is a conversation hat takes place between Lord Aragon ( or Strider as he is also referred to) and Lady Eowyn.

“What do you fear, lady?” Aragon asked.“A cage,” Lady Eowyn said, “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.” (See Endnote # 2).

Whenever I find myself stagnant and excusing away desired action, I refer to these to literary masterpieces. I hope that they provide you with the opportunity to re-examine some of the desired actions that you may have postponed and re-ignite the desire.

Until the next submission, I remain (hopefully) free of self-imposed cages. To this end, I will shed my cage-like excuses and use the day to fly-fish on the Lower Salt River here in Arizona. That reminds me, you invited to read my exciting, unique new blog which can be found at WWW.FlyFishingDojo.Wordpress.Com.

Tags: emotional stagnation, Jiriki Kata-Do, JRR Tolkien, Lord Of The Rings, Rainer Maria Rilke, Sensei John, The Panther