Anticipation Poem by Denis Martindale

At first, two meerkats looked intense,
Not gentle in their minds,
Testing things that would help their friends
In sensing what both finds...
Calm down? No, that would bring sleep soon,
In time to risk their all,
Perchance to doze, perchance to swoon
And into dreaming fall...

To many, such as these prove fun,
In oh so many ways,
Outlandish, there beneath the sun,
Not moving as each stays...
And yet, they stand guard, hours on end,
Not tempted from their posts,
Trustworthy still as they defend,
Indifferent to boasts...

Courageous, yes, defiant, true,
In steadfast love they wait,
Perchance to do what they must do
And thus anticipate...
To me, that's noble, without doubt,
If loyalty proves worth,
Of all the creatures spread about
Now living on this Earth...

Denis Martindale, copyright, May 2013.

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

The first letters of each line spell out the words:
ANTICIPATION... ANTICIPATION...