las lloronas

years of watching
nature shows
and I can’t answer this question:

given the opportunity
will a predator
kill two at once?

imagine: somewhere
in central america
a jaguar is striving for a personal best

and prays (in whatever way
that big cats pray) that the kinkajous
fooling about on the forest floor

will stay still long enough
for him to take both with one
velvet razor swipe

but he is thwarted when
one sees him waiting and lets out
a quavering cry

(this is why they call the kinkajou
la llorona
the weeping woman)

and when the two
scratch their way up a tree
leaving the jaguar behind to curse

(in whatever way jaguars curse)
they weep with joy and perhaps
snicker at the loser below

imagine at night that las lloronas
the weeping women
honey bears of the canopy

tell stories to each other
of all the death they’ve avoided
at the jaws and paws of would-be overachievers

pausing now and then to whisper
of the ones who fell alone
and unwarned

there is strength in numbers
they tell each other
the jaguars can only kill us when we forget that

so can a predator
kill more than one at one time?
I expect they can

but only
if the prey
allow