The Ring-Tailed Lemur Speaks

Do I frighten you?

image source

I am the namesake of the restless dead

The evil spirits who haunt the night

My face a black mask

My eyes a ghostly reflection

My howl a piercing scream

Long ago men appeased me with black beans

     to rid me from their homes

Now I mostly eat fruits

     and it is my home that is in peril

I am watching you with my staring eyes

And unlike my nocturnal brothers

     I rise with the sun, like you

I may be fearful but I am to be feared

Like my namesake, I will have my revenge

     on those who do not respect my nature

Let the rings on my tail remind you

That Hell awaits

submitted for The Poetry Bus

also submitted for Poetry Potluck-Evolution, Environment, and Survival

*In Roman mythology 'lemures' (singular lemur) were spirits of the restless or malignant dead and were described as vengeful and feared. Lemures inspired Linnaeus's classification of 'lemur' to characterize the "ghostly stare", nocturnal habits and unearthly calls of the infraorder. Ring-tailed lemurs are endangered. The forests of Madagascar are being converted to farmland, overgrazed by livestock, and harvested for charcoal production. Lemurs are also hunted for food in certain areas of their range and are frequently kept as pets.