Hunter and the Prey

Life goes on.

Hunter and the Prey

Well, today he wakes early…there’s a chill to the air;

with a yawn his attendant lifts him into his chair.

Past the chambermaid to the balustrade--

are his old eyes still too tired to see?

Or is, poised to attack, a presence in black

staring right back? Today is the day

the hunter and the prey

are pawns in a game the elements play.

So he passes the morning ’neath the tangerine trees,

caressing a handful of stems on his knees.

With a sigh he wheels past the daffodils

to the garden in time for tea.

The blooms gush aglow, the leaves blush below,

but the marigolds know that today is the day

the hunter and the prey

are pawns in a game the elements play.

Well, he makes his way wheezing through the garden alone,

to the shade of a young cherry tree. To the strong call of life

he replies with a moan, and catching his breath he is free.

Now the maid finds her master grown cold in the sun,

and the look on his face sends her off at a run.

Then a fall of leaves pirouettes and weaves,

as if those empty old eyes still could see,

and appreciate how the loss of the bough

is justified now that today was the day

the hunter and the prey

were pawns in a game the elements play.