EVER WATCHFUL

As the ever watchful cheetah
Was resting on the ground,
She believed no-one could beat her
While listening for each sound,
Yet her eyes could see much further
Than pricked ears could relay
And so her eyes would serve her,
Protecting her each day.
A mother's love is diligent
And seeks the common good...
Her eyes are always vigilant
To scan her neighbourhood...
So watch out, fellow predator,
This cheetah's wide awake...
And be wise, don't seek to hurt her...
Your life could be at stake...
If left alone, her family
Will last for many years,
Yet ever watchful she must be,
Diminishing their fears...
It may be sunny overhead,
With gentle breezes, too...
Yet all God's creatures must be fed
And don't care what or who.
Compassion's limits she knows well,
Yet love still has its place...
If you look hard, then you can tell...
Her love shows on her face...

Denis Martindale, copyright, November 2009.

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

The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Ever Watchful'.
Shared on http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ever-watchful/
Shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/everwatchful

The Stephen Gayford Gallery website is here:
http://www.gayfordgallery.com

In November 2009, it featured a competition for this picture print.
http://www.gayfordgallery.com/competition_01.htm
See the Mother Cheetah picture there... and in detail here:
http://www.gayfordgallery.com/index_htm_files/44.jpg

Update: My poem, 'An Ode To Stephen Gayford' is featured in
the website's News Section!

http://www.gayfordgallery.com/news.htm

There's also a Guest Book!
http://users2.smartgb.com/g/g.php?a=s&i=g25-52612-21

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 (on UK Freeview)
http://www.speedauction.tv

HIDDEN OBSERVER

The lone gray wolf sat still once more,
Next to another tree...
As if to tap his frozen paw,
In time, impatiently...
The snow had stopped, the breeze was cool,
He sighed another sigh...
And there he sat, as if a fool,
For something to pass by...
An hour vanished like the sun
That clouds had blocked from sight.
Yet there was nothing to be done,
Waiting in that twilight...
Starvation haunts the carnivores
When snow sets on the ground.
The lone gray wolf can't rest indoors
When there's no food around...
Then drooping ears pricked up at last!
A rustling sound was heard...
The lone gray wolf then ran so fast
To catch the helpless bird!
The ancient battle then ensued,
The hunter and the prey...
This time, the wolf had won the feud
And food was on its way...
The ancient rules must still apply...
For Nature's Laws must serve her...
That's why, beneath the twilight sky,
He's the hidden observer...

Denis Martindale, copyright, November 2009.

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

The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Hidden Observer'.
Shared on http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hidden-observer/
Shortcut: tinyurl.com/hiddenobserver

The Stephen 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 (on UK Freeview)
http://www.speedauction.tv

HUNTER'S MOON

Beneath the silver-speckled moon,
That floated like the clouds,
The wild wolf smiled for he would soon
Dispel all nearby crowds.
For he could howl, upon his hill,
Enough to chill your bones,
Enough to make a brave man ill
And fill his throat with groans...

This wily wolf could howl all night!
He sat still unafraid...
He grinned from ear-to-ear all right,
Then what a noise he made!
All ears for miles were tuned in now!
He sniggered, then he paused...
With one huge breath, he howled and how!
And, oh, what fear that caused!

Then three quick howls to pile it on!
Then silence, just for fun...
And just when folks had thought he'd gone,
He proved he wasn't done!
Beneath the hunter's moon above,
His body shook with glee...
He howled as they screamed, 'Lay it off!'
'You can't get rid of me!'

Denis Martindale, copyright, November 2009.

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

The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Hunter's Moon'.

Shared on http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hunter-s-moon/
Shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/huntersmoon

The Stephen 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 (on UK Freeview)
http://www.speedauction.tv

VANTAGE POINT

This tree was his, he'd staked his claim,
Yes, every leaf and twig...
The leopard watched approaching game,
No matter, small or big...
He circled round to catch the sights,
To memorise them all...
And while he savoured these delights,
Made sure he didn't fall.
His old tree wasn't quite as good,
This served his purpose well...
As he surveyed his neighbourhood,
Its magic weaved its spell...
This was a land he'd learnt to love,
The best that he could roam,
A palace where he'd rule above,
A kingdom near his home...
Yes, life was good, for him at least,
Yet not for those below...
For they'd learnt fast to fear the beast,
To count him as their foe...
The predator looked sleek, sublime,
Alert both night and day...
Yet from his vantage point, in time,
He'd take your breath away...

Denis Martindale, copyright, October 2009.

The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Vantage Point'.
Shared on http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/vantage-point-3/

The Gayford poems can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/gayfordpoems
http://tinyurl.com/gayfordpoems2
http://denis-martindale.blogspot.com

The framed pictures are bought from these websites:
http://www.bid.tv (on UK Freeview)
http://www.price-drop.tv (on UK Freeview)
http://www.speedauction.tv

BLACK BEAUTY

Behold the black panther's beauty!
That striking set of eyes!
Yet survival sets its duty -
To hunt until he dies...
So each night, he's slowly bidden
To stalk his prey once more...
Within that darkness he's hidden,
In silence, to be sure...
He treads the ground with gentle paws,
He sniffs the breeze for clues,
He hides his teeth, he hides his claws,
This untamed wild recluse...
The night is young, his turn will come...
His blood runs cold each time...
His heart is beating like a drum...
Yet onward he must climb.
The hours pass, yet he must wait...
The vigil must be kept.
No rest, he mustn't hesitate...
He mustn't be inept!
Was that a rustling dead ahead?
Was that his answered prayer?
Was that a creature that just fled?
All he could do was stare!
Here was the beauty and the beast...
The devil in disguise...
With hunger raging, unappeased...
Till something near him dies...
I pity him, his victims, too...
Is there no other way?
Each night they do what they must do,
The hunter and the prey...

Denis Martindale, copyright, October 2009.

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

The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Black Beauty'.

Shared on
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/black-beauty-6/

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 (on UK Freeview)
http://www.speedauction.tv

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

The polar bear looked at her child,
The one she must defend,
The son who soon would face the wild,
The one who was her friend...
The tiny cub looked up above,
To see his mother there,
The one who filled his heart with love
And melted every care.
Their togetherness and gentleness
Remain a sight to see.
To those who share their happiness,
There's no great mystery...
For each shares hope, as days go by,
With bonds they share for life,
That help them bear and thus defy
The troubles and the strife.
If Nature didn't cultivate
The love that these two own,
Then each of them would face their fate
Unaided, all alone...
Through families, life perseveres,
For we know we belong...
Surviving through the passing years,
Resilient, ever strong.
Persistence and tenacity,
These strengths have proved enough...
Formed now in every family
With tenderness and love...

Denis Martindale, copyright, October 2009.

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

The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Hope For The Future'.
Shared on
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hope-for-the-future-2/
Shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/hopeforthefuture

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 (on UK Freeview)
http://www.speedauction.tv

DEEP FREEZE

As the snow was going nowhere,
The tiger settled still...
Content that he saw nothing there,
He rested on the hill.
He looked to both the left and right,
From his high point of view
And all he saw was white, white, white!
And so, what could he do?

He yawned at so much tedium...
With nothing there to eat...
And coldness filled him to the brim
And gone all trace of heat!
Somehow, he felt he couldn't win!
"Why can't I fly like birds?"
"Why me?" he asked, with such chagrin!
In short-clipped angry words...

Of course, we know, life isn't fair!
For some, it's way too cold.
Yet starving was so hard to bear...
And he was getting old!
He wasn't like he used to be,
So fast upon his feet.
"I'm getting on, that's plain to see...
Now things are not so sweet!"

And so he moaned, like old folks do,
About his aches and pains...
Stuck to that hill as if with glue...
Then suddenly, it rains...
"For pity sake!" he groaned again...
"This really's not my day!"
And so he stood, right there and then...
And sighed... and walked away...

Denis Martindale, copyright, October 2009.

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

The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Deep Freeze'.
Shared on
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/deep-freeze-2/

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 (on UK Freeview)
http://www.speedauction.tv