When Leopards Hunt Poem by Nwafor Awala

When leopards hunt
in the shadows of time,
my forefathers walked the dark with their spotted coats of courage,
their eyes like gleaming stars in a midnight forest,
and their silent predators.

Eagles soared with knowledge atop mountain summits,
their feathers as crisp as the lines
murmured by ancient legends.

They looked out at the world with alert eyes,
their wings spread wide like ancestral scrolls.

Stories unfolded in paws and talons
strong through tangled woodlands
and sky-bound expanses; Sketched on the canvas of history,
this dance of survival included unclear paths
highlighted by leaps and flights.

I was taught that every stride
was a metaphor for perseverance.

(c) Nwafor Oji Awala