Distinguished though the leopard seemed,
He still recalled his past,
As if at rest, in thoughts he dreamed,
Yet knowing these can't last...
As if his destiny were planned,
He knew he must succeed,
For as an adult, he looked grand,
The alpha male, indeed...
That's why he didn't rush love's game,
Nor seek a female friend,
Content in what his life became,
He thought it couldn't end...
But then Man came, to take the trees,
His precious land to roam,
In time, to bring him to his knees,
Alone, without a home...
Unstopped, Man always gets his way,
Distinguished by desires,
The forests plundered, lands decay,
To please the city buyers...
Yet leopards couldn't say their prayers,
For God's grace to implore,
They'd simply hide where no man stares...
Till doomed for evermore...
Denis Martindale, copyright, August 2014.
The poem is based on the magnificent painting by
Stephen Gayford, nb Google search gayfordgallery.
Find more wildlife poems using Google search
for the search phrase Stephen Gayford poetry.
https://www.google.co.uk/#q=Stephen+Gayford+poetry
Poem shared here:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/distinguished/
Printer-friendly text version, nb increase text size:
http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/denis-martindale/distinguished/
Shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/distinguished-poem
http://denis-martindale.blogspot.com/2014/08/distinguished.html
My Poetry website: http://poem.says.it
My Stephen Gayford tribute poems are here:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/stephen-gayford/
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-prince-of-prints-2/
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-brush-with-genius/
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/gayford-gallery/
The Stephen Gayford Gallery website is here:
http://www.gayfordgallery.com
It was being updated in August 2014!
http://gayfordgallery.com/the-artist/
Youtube video: http://tinyurl.com/gayfordgallery-dot-com-video
Click-a-pic!
http://gayfordgallery.com/original-paintings/
http://gayfordgallery.com/originalwatercolours/
http://gayfordgallery.com/originalpencildrawings/
http://gayfordgallery.com/signedlimitededitionartistproofs/
There's also a Guest Book!
http://users2.smartgb.com/g/g.php?a=s&i=g25-52612-21
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Stephen Gayford poems can be viewed here:
poemhunter.com links:
http://tinyurl.com/gayfordpoems or
http://tinyurl.com/gayfordpoems2
(that's for the A to Z title listings)
blog website links:
http://denis-martindale.blogspot.com
http://tinyurl.com/stephen-gayford-poetry
Framed pictures can be bought from UK websites,
NB use zoom-in feature when viewing pictures.
http://search.ebay.co.uk/stephen-gayford
http://www.amazon.co.uk
http://www.preloved.co.uk
https://www.google.co.uk/#q=Stephen+Gayford
http://www.baato.co.uk/stephen%20gayford
(Various website sales of Stephen Gayford prints.)
:::