What is white and spotted

Snow leopards disappearing?

Kuensel, the newspaper of Bhutan, 16 February 2012

All colours are white

but can you not see

a shady outline

in this frame, or that?

Could that dark polished

stone not be an eye,

that crease of pink rock

a bared tongue or bloodied

fang? Yak herders tell

of leopards forming

out of falling snow,

the border shepherds

of snow drifts thinning

out their blue sheep herds

and leaving behind

only red shadows.

At this altitude

so close to Tibet

we are watchful of

our northern neighbours.

Look more closely, tell

me you see leopards.

(c) 2012 Slush Poet