Ian Stewart: ‘Hunter’

Hunter

silent road
winter morning
iced puddle
shines in the sun

above the puddle
wraiths of mist
curling towards
a harsh blue sky

air still as death

rabbit foraging
in frost-filled grass
fur a mat of diamonds
ears alert

a sudden movement
rabbit’s ears twitch
time to leave
gone in a moment

enter fox on silent legs
duck at pond’s edge
duck taken
in a flash

all still again

mist still rises unconcerned
towards the blue sky
as if there never was a fox
or a duck

Ian Stewart