Keeping Watch Poem by Denis Martindale

The zebras stood there in a line
And almost side-by-side.
Their eyes were staring for a sign
That could serve as a guide.
If dangers lurked, then eyes and ears
Would warn them when to run...
Their instincts helped them through the years,
Yet they must fight the sun...
For up above, it blasted down
With heat beyond belief...
To melt the blue, the green and brown
And linger like a thief...
Just one mistake and some would die
And so they stood and chewed...
And watched each hour pass them by,
In their long solemn mood...
No false alarms had happened yet
And so they stood their ground...
United in each other's debt
For anything they found...
A sudden stirring chilled their blood!
In seconds, they had gone!
Like cavalry, their hooves would thud,
As lions stood alone...
This battle won, the zebras lived
To see another day...
With vigilence their greatest gift,
They chewed and chewed away...


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

More Stephen Gayford poems here:
denis-martindale-dot-blogspot-dot-com