Poems -- Bradypus tridactylus

The beast drooped from the tree like an ant’s nest
its orange-yellow-white-brown-black matted hair
algaed to green by the damp of recent tropical rains
its face was turned away, it hung by three long claws on each foot
I watched for hours to see if it would move
it might as well have been dead
I had to creep around and use a telephoto lens to see its face
round eyes with dark lashes, snub of a snout, tiny ears
small mouth, thick horny lips concealed its fabled eighteen teeth
it was fairly young, the villagers had heard it crying in the night
crying for its mother, “Ai – Ai,” its plaintive wail

they had come to get me, excited, traveling up the river
they said it had been there for days, motionless
no one had seen it eat or move from its perch,
how it had got here or why its mother had left no one knew
it was about to get dark, the villagers said we had to go
jaguars go after people, not just sloths
I wanted to stay but not by myself
it was Kartabo, Guyana, years ago

PS Wanna see one? Click the green arrow at the top of the post or go to http://tropicaltreefarms.com/htm/main/photos/forest