Tower Hamlets Cemetery is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. It is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and was originally consecrated in 1841. One of the cemetery’s more famous ‘residents’ is Charles Jamrach, a Victorian menagerie keeper and exotic animal exporter. In 1857, one of Jamrach’s Bengal tigers escaped his menagerie and stalked through London, almost killing a nine-year-old boy.
The Ghost of Jamrach’s Tiger
Around the stones, there lurks a giant shade,
transparent stripes emblazoned on his hide.
With ghostly teeth and paws as big as spades,
he relishes eternity outside.
He spent his life, a shadow in a cage,
until he slipped his chains and ran amok.
He sought to make the most of his rampage,
and almost mauled a boy down by the dock.
In death, he’s finally free from Jamrach’s zoo
and, following those instincts, long supressed,
he stalks the graves at night, as you would too
if you had been so baselessly oppressed.
As Bow bells toll their spectral midnight chime,
I hear an echo growling out of time.
LM
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| Bengal tiger (courtesy of unsplash.com) |
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