The Tiger and the Wolf

There are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves

 There are men too gentle to live among wolves
 Who prey upon them with IBM eyes
 And sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon.

 There are men too gentle for a savage world
 Who dream instead of snow and children and Halloween
 And wonder if the leaves will change their color soon.

 There are men too gentle to live among wolves
 Who anoint them for burial with greedy claws
 And murder them for a merchant's profit and gain.

 There are men too gentle for a corporate world
 Who dream instead of candied apples and ferris wheels
 And pause to hear the distant whistle of a train.

 There are men too gentle to live among wolves
 Who devour them with eager appetite and search
 For other men to prey upon and suck their childhood dry.

 There are men too gentle for an accountant's world
 Who dream instead of Easter eggs and fragrant grass
 And search for beauty in the mystery of the sky.

 There are men too gentle to live among wolves
 Who toss them like a lost and wounded dove.
 Such gentle men are lonely in a merchant's world,
 Unless they have a gentle one to love.

 By James Kavanaugh

Julie: I wonder sometimes why you wanted to marry a caged tiger. I tried to escape then, and you let me go, but I came back because I think God knew you were the only one who could tame me. You're the only one who has the patience and strength to hold onto me when I writhe and claw. I don't want to hurt you, but I know I do all the time when I fight against everything I'm supposed to do. I'm afraid I will always be restless. Can you really domesticate a wild cat?

Rex: The secret to caging a restless tiger I have learned over the course of many years, but I will share it with you because I love you. First, forget the cage. Any tiger that sees, smells, feels, or hears a cage can not be held in it. In truth, it is more like catching a butterfly, even though it is a tiger you are hunting. You need a silk net to lovingly catch it. When taking it out of your net, you must gently persuade it to come to you. Any sudden movements may startle it and scare it off. If it feels threatened in any way, this process will not work. The tiger must come to you. Then you must hold it lovingly in your arms again as softly as the butterfly, so as to not crush its delicate beauty. All the while, you can never forget that it is a wild animal: strong, graceful, and free. At times it might bite or claw you, but you can never tighten your hold or it will only fight for its freedom that much harder. You must let it bite and scratch, remaining calm. Even when you are weak, and your blood stains the ground, you must never let go. If you want to have your very own tiger...you must love it.

Julie: Your tiger may still fight, but don't let her go. Eventually, she will return to the cage, but a silk net isn't strong enough. Stay with her, see her, hear her, feel who she is, show her you love more than just holding and admiring a beautiful majestic beast The tiger will come back when the illusion of freedom vanishes and the tamer's soul reaches her soul to pacify her wild heart. Maybe then the cage will be a refuge instead of an oubliette.

Rex: The illusion of freedom is not an illusion, and I will always be here for her as long as she needs me.

Julie: The tiger doesn't know what is real and what is not. Maybe that's why she doesn't want to go back in the cage yet.

Rex: I am a good man in a world that mocks my virtues and laughs at the values I hold as sacred. I am forced to run with wolves whether I like it or not.

Julie: Maybe so. Or maybe the one you love is a wild and restless tiger, not a gentle one.

Rex: Not true! She IS the gentle one! Such gentle men need to make certain that they care for them with sufficient tenderness, not neglecting their needs, or throwing them to the wolves. There are women to gentle and kind to run with the she-wolves too you know.

Julie: You didn't throw her to the wolves. There are, apparently, other men too gentle to live among wolves. If she is gentle, it is only because her gentle man taught her how to be. What she doesn't understand is how she could learn from him how to feel and love as he does, but his own heart became walled up inside. Perhaps the tiger clawed it too much and he had to protect it from being torn to pieces. Your gentle one wasn't so gentle, was she?

Rex: Maybe if I taught her that the claws hurt, she might not have inflicted so much pain. She was not aware of it so she can not really be held accountable for injuries inflicted. I should have taught/talked to my gentle one rather than build walls. I was so afraid of caging her that I built one for myself. She truly is a rare beauty that I treasure greatly. Nobody ever gave me instructions for tiger taming. All I have is an abundance of love, and I lack the ideal means of expressing it to its fullest extent.

Julie: I think I forgot who the writer is in this family...