A Dusky Moment
A free verse poem about the circle of life
The evening sky is streaked with fierce gold, bold orange, and soft magenta
Miles and miles of tall, thick prairie grass stretch across the savanna
It dances to the whispers and murmurs of the wind
A lone tree stands in the distance.
A giraffe towers over the plain and watches her baby frolic in the grass
Beautiful and magnificent,
sleek and intelligent.
An eerie silence creeps into the air,
but she is oblivious.
The light dims, and the sun is setting
Soon darkness will arrive.
A pair of eyes considers, contemplates, conceives a plan nearby
Steely and cold?
Or strong and determined?
A rustle in the grass, and the mother suspects an intruder —
She turns.
A nightmare comes alive.
She is panic-stricken, her baby frozen
For a minute, the whistling wind is silent.
Run away, struggling, gone.
Night is falling.
Within moments, one mother bounds over to her children wrestling playfully in the grass.
Within moments, another’s world is changed forever.
The next day is new and bright
What had happened faded into yesterday.
However dark, however dangerous, however daunting
Nature runs its course.
