The Amazon Queen

The Amazon Queen
had a necklace with the teeth of an alligator
that she killed when she was still a princess.
(One tooth was missing
but no one noticed
because no one except Her knew
how many teeth an alligator had.)

And then came Man.

Man had come
with his tools for measurements
“To study nature,” he said
“for three days. And then,
I shall leave.”

The Amazon Queen
did not like the way
Man looked at Her
when he spoke.

On the first day
She took Man with Her
to hunt across the river.
Upon reaching the waters,
Man crossed the river first.
This angered the Amazon Queen
who crossed the water after him
and shouted in his face.

“Do you not know that it is considered rude
to cross the river before the Queen?”

And Man answered “I crossed first
to test the waters for piranhas.”

On the second day
She took Her spear to go hunting
and noticed the spear-head was different.
She knew at once who had done it.

“Do you not know,” She told Man
“that it is a crime to tamper with the Queen’s weapons?”

Man answered Her, “I noticed that
the spear-head was damaged, so I changed it
before You went hunting.”

On the third day
Man gave Her something small and white in Her hand.
“I noticed Your necklace
had alligator teeth. But I counted it
and found one missing.
Add this tooth to Your necklace
and now it is complete.”

The Amazon Queen
threw the tooth into the river
and angrily exclaimed:

“My necklace is perfect.
I am not missing a tooth.”

That night, Man left
never to return.

The next day
the Amazon Queen
realized too late
that She could not bring him back.

So she waded into the river
hoping to find
the tooth She had thrown away.


For Aika 8-11-05