On Patrol [2] Poem by Gert Strydom

On patrol I saw a leopard melting into a tree
and almost becoming invisible in the shadow of it.
One moment it was gazing silently at the group of us,
the very next the rasping purr did stop,
lightning quick with huge power it did jump down
and I was sure that it was going to try and kill
each one of us as at this that animal was a expert,
at splitting skulls, at spilling brains
at killing and hunting wild baboons
and here we were soldiers raising our guns
but it did not rush in,
it chose to leave and did fade away
into the knee-high grass and the bush.

© Gert Strydom