Second Glance at a Jaguar

Skinful of bowl, he bowls them, The hip going in and out of joint, dropping the spine With the urgency of his hurry Like a cat going along under thrown stones, under cover, Glancing sideways, running Under his spine. A terrible, stump-legged waddle Like a thick Aztec disemboweller, Club-swinging, trying to grind some square Socket between his hind legs round, Carrying his head like a brazier of spilling embers, And the black bit of his mouth, he takes it Between his back teeth, he has to wear his skin out, He swipes a lap at the water-trough as he turns, Swivelling the ball of his heel on the polished spot, Showing his belly like a butterfly At every stride he has to turn a corner In himself and correct it. His head Is like the worn down stump of another whole jaguar, His body is just the engine shoving it forward, Lifting the air up and shoving on under, The weight of his fangs hanging the mouth open, Bottom jaw combing the ground. A gorged look, Gangster, club-tail lumped along behind gracelessly, He's wearing himself to heavy ovals, Muttering some mantrah, some drum-song of murder To keep his rage brightening, making his skin Intolerable, spurred by the rosettes, the cain-brands, Wearing the spots from the inside, Rounding some revenge. Going like a prayer-wheel, The head dragging forward, the body keeping up, The hind legs lagging. He coils, he flourishes The blackjack tail as if looking for a target, Hurrying through the underworld, soundless.

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Second Glance at a Jaguar - meaning Summary

Rage Inside Confinement

The poem presents a jaguar as a body driven by fierce inner force rather than graceful freedom. Its awkward, damaged-looking movement becomes an expression of contained rage, predatory power, and relentless purpose. Hughes imagines the animal as carrying violence and ancient ritual within itself, so that even its enclosure or physical heaviness cannot diminish its threatening intensity. The jaguar seems to be moving toward an unnamed revenge.

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