Predator—the word chills our spine,

Animals that locate prey, kill to dine.

Shakes our comfort, yet in some ways,

Is so romantic, chill ebbs and decays.

Contemplate cougar’s tawny beauty,

Feel it’s our conservationist duty

To preserve truly magnificent beast,

Reserve stingy habitat where at least

It retains foothold of meager existence,

Choking deer, its common preference.

Few humans know this kitty’s style,

Hunts the dark with stealth and guile.

Is quite discrete in moving about,

Chooses with care its travel route,

Prefers living where people are not,

Even its tracks are tough to spot.

About big predators we romanticize,

With their victims we rarely empathize,

For prey strategy is safety in numbers,

We know this idea, value encumbers,

For when a species is in large supply,

 Who cares if one of them should die?

Two more of same will take its place

And propagate the persecuted race.

Now consider the predator of distinction.

Man hunts most competition to extinction

If it tries residence at top of food chain

In territory over which man has reign.

But there’s little area man doesn’t own,

Consequently, big predators can’t live on,

But often pass the way of sabertooth,

And other species he thought uncouth.

Man, having carved the top for himself,

Desired to reach, take food from shelf.

Learned to keep prey penned, well fed,

Until time to walk to the animal shed.

Sharpened tool, long-bladed knife,

With raw efficiency bleed out life,

Inedible parts trim away discretely,

Then slice meat to meal size neatly,

Cold store or spice-treat valued food,

For himself, or a well-paying client dude

Who specializes in some genteel trade,

Would rather pay to have his kill made.

   So here we’ve come, full circle and higher,

Predators are choker, sticker, and buyer.

Choker with claw and teeth in gullet,

Sticker with knife, or arrow or bullet.

Buyer with appetite for packaged meat,

Money to pay sticker for prepared treat.

I see moral equivalence among the three,

All are predators: the cougar, me and thee.