Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across the screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
Aunt Jennifer created a bright and beautiful scene with brave and fearless tigers. They do not fear men, they do not fear anything living their lives with the freedom to roam and choose. Aunt Jennifer is creative and talented but is only allowed to express this as she sits under the power of a man. Suffocating her, heavy and powerful is the oppression she lives in, even in her own home. What could have become of Aunt Jennifer’s talent had she been able to go out into the world and share it? So many women are never allowed to reach their potential because they are living in a controlling relationship. When she is gone the beautiful picture she created will live on, the tigers will never change who they are. She will never be anything but a woman who lives in fear under the control of a man who couldn’t stand to see anyone own a part of her other than himself.
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