SHADY RETREAT...

The tiger in his striped fur coat
As if with hoodie on,
Had sought to find some antidote
Till Summer's heat had gone...
Shady retreat, hello, hello,
Just what he hoped to find,
His face lit up as if aglow,
Just one thing on his mind...

His body slumped upon the ground,
Stretched out like melted cheese,
Yet when at rest, he looked around
And simply felt at peace...
No need to drink, no need to eat,
He savoured all God gave,
As if bestowed by this retreat
That any heart would crave...

In Winter, such a place would serve
A less important task,
For now, no better place on Earth
That any soul could ask...
And so he grinned from ear to ear,
Thanksgiving in his heart,
Just like a human's Christmas cheer
That all too soon must part...


Denis Martindale, copyright, December 2014.


The poem is based on the magnificent wildlife
painting by Stephen Gayford nb Google-search
gayfordgallery and "Stephen Gayford poetry".

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=Stephen+Gayford+poetry

Poem shared here:

http://poemhunter.com/poem/shady-retreat/

Shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/shady-retreat

Printer-friendly text version, nb increase text size:

http://poemhunter.com/best-poems/denis-martindale/shady-retreat/

http://denis-martindale.blogspot.com/2014/12/shady-retreat.html

My Poetry website: http://poem.says.it

My Stephen Gayford tribute poems are here:

http://poemhunter.com/poem/stephen-gayford/
http://poemhunter.com/poem/the-prince-of-prints-2/
http://poemhunter.com/poem/a-brush-with-genius/
http://poemhunter.com/poem/gayford-gallery/

The Stephen Gayford Gallery website is here:

http://www.gayfordgallery.com

It was being updated in December 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

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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.)


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