Lying In Wait, Too Poem by Denis Martindale

In every life, there comes the time,
When hunger takes its toll,
And then the strife is in full prime
And has to take control.
The tiger knows this very well,
It's faced it through the years,
Detecting signals that would tell
The next hunt, when it nears.

The tiger loses all its peace,
And has to focus now,
Before its hunger can increase,
Because it will, somehow.
Its eyes and ears have one intent,
One purpose, one alone,
Relying not on accident
For food of flesh and bone.

The prey's still out there, fancy free,
Just blind, and deaf, and dumb,
No clue of its dark destiny,
No hint of what must come.
Then suddenly, the chase it fears,
Begins, and off it runs!
The tiger speeds up! Then it nears!
And hunger ends at once.


Denis Martindale.3rd of March 2026.


This wildlife poem is about the magnificent painting
by UK wildlife artist Stephen Gayford. He painted
over 700 pictures and the prints still sell in the UK.