When tigers pause, their eyes stare deep,
Across each forest scene...
To scan for creatures that can creep,
No matter, mild or mean...
This tiger searches high and low,
His eyes pan left to right...
And as they wander to and fro,
The tension starts to bite!
In seconds, everything could change,
A false alarm or what?
A broken twig or something strange
To put him on the spot?
That's why his paws are prone to pause,
Sometimes to poise mid-air...
Until his eyes have learnt the cause,
They'll dangle, dainty, there...
Those precious paws hold claws within,
So he can hold his own.
If he must fight, he won't give in...
His heart is cold as stone!
The gentle cub is long since gone,
This adult heart beats now...
Survival instincts carry on,
To them, each soul must bow...
He knows that one mistake and then,
They'll write his epitaph!
Now safe, he treads the ground again...
And carries on his path...
Denis Martindale, copyright, July 2009.
My Poetry website: http://poem.says.it
The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Eyes Of The Forest'.
Shared on
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/eyes-of-the-forest/
Shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/eyesoftheforest
The Gayford poems can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/gayfordpoems or
http://tinyurl.com/gayfordpoems2
http://denis-martindale.blogspot.com
The framed pictures are bought from these UK websites:
http://www.bid.tv (on UK Freeview)
http://www.price-drop.tv
http://www.speedauction.tv
