Prey

At The Light Of Dawn

Patrolling in the shadows of the forests

Senses sharpened, ears cocked, eyes bright

Padding softly upon broken root and branch

Evening sounds echo deep into the night

Slipping silently through the cover of the wood

Inhaling sharp aromas in the evening light

The treeline approaches, pace slows, then stops

The prey that they seek, in the clearing, grouped tight

Distant rumbles of thunder shatter the silence

Float through the night air and falls to the ground

With hard heavy pounding, they strike out on their trail

Covered from view, and muffling their sound

Stalk into the night, sinews tightened, prepared

The path clears ahead, the bones they will pound

No rival will match them, this feast will be theirs

The prey in the clearing will be smashed to the ground

A squawk high above announces its presence

On silent wing, it circles, awaiting the dawn

Under cover of darkness, unseen it approaches

Keen eye from afar, it waits, talons drawn

The sun slowly rises, the way ahead clear

Begins the descent, quick glimpse and it’s gone

Gathering speed, swooping in low

The prey in the clearing so clear in the morn

The prey swiftly wakens to the stunning attack

As the strike from the sky is the first to arrive

The path rumbles louder with a sickening sound

Quickening pace in the fight to survive

Out of the trees burst the strong and the swift

One thought in their mind, the now, stay alive

The prey they are scattered, bloodied and torn

Aftermath

Shattered corpses

Broken bones

Buildings flattened

Broken homes

Sons lost to mothers

Fathers to sons

Townships are broken

Whilst victories won

Rounded like cattle

Penned, tagged, alone

Crouched in small groups

Souls stripped to the bone

Children cling to their mothers

Dazed and confused

Humanity stripped

Hearts bloodied and bruised

Victors dance their merry jig

At their feet souls mourn

The screams of dying innocents

Wail fruitlessly, forlorn

Craven kings of far of lands

Rejoice in hallowed halls

Dawn rises on this fateful morn

And deaths hammer swiftly falls

© Fergus Martin

2012