Cheetah and Stanza
Cheetah ~ Charles Eglington
Indolent and kitten-eyed,
This is the bushveld's innocent
The stealthy leopard parodied
With grinning, gangling pup-content.
Slouching through the tawny grass
Or loose-limbed lolling in the shade,
Purring for the sun to pass
And build a twilight barricade
Around the vast arena where;
In scattered herds, his grazing prey
Do not suspect in what wild fear
They'll join with him in fatal play;
Till hunger draws slack sinews tight
And vibrant as a hunter's bow;
Then, like a fleck of mottled light,
He slides across the still plateau.
A tremor rakes the herds: they scent
The pungent breeze of his advance;
Heads rear and jerk in vigilant
Compliance with the game of chance
In which, of thousands, only one
Is centered in the cheetah's eye;
They wheel and then stampede, for none
Knows which it is that has to die.
His stealth and swiftness fling a noose
And as his loping strides begin
To blur with speed, he ropes the loose
Buck on the red horizon in.
Outline
This poem shows the game of chance involved when a predator attacks his prey. The Cheetah looks harmless and awkward like a puppy. He relaxes in the shade but gradually focuses in on scattered herds that have no idea that he will attack them.
Gradually, hunger tightens his muscles and he slides along the plain ready to hunt. The herd senses his approach and they jerk up, watchful. This is a game of chance in which only one will die, but none knows which the cheetah has his eye on. His speed seems to fling a rope n.th a loose knot around them and he pulls one in.
Analysis
Indolent: Indolent means lazy and he says the cheetah has the gentle,soft eyes of a kitten. busheveld’s innocent: An innocent is one who does not know what evil and wrong are parodied: A parody is a mockery or pokes fun at something serious – so the lazy, puppy-like, awkward cheetah mocks the dangerous leopard pup-content: The poet uses the words ‘pup-content’ as a comparison (metaphor) – the cheetah is like a pup – happy
Indolent and kitten-eyed,
This is the bushveld's innocent
The stealthy leopard parodied
With grinning, gangling pup-content.
Slouching through the tawny grass
Or loose-limbed lolling in the shade,
Purring for the sun to pass
And build a twilight barricade
Around the vast arena where;
In scattered herds, his grazing prey
Do not suspect in what wild fear
They'll join with him in fatal play;
Till hunger draws slack sinews tight
And vibrant as a hunter's bow;
Then, like a fleck of mottled light,
He slides across the still plateau.
A tremor rakes the herds: they scent
The pungent breeze of his advance;
Heads rear and jerk in vigilant
Compliance with the game of chance
In which, of thousands, only one
Is centered in the cheetah's eye;
They wheel and then stampede, for none
Knows which it is that has to die.
His stealth and swiftness fling a noose
And as his loping strides begin
To blur with speed, he ropes the loose
Buck on the red horizon in.
Outline
This poem shows the game of chance involved when a predator attacks his prey. The Cheetah looks harmless and awkward like a puppy. He relaxes in the shade but gradually focuses in on scattered herds that have no idea that he will attack them.
Gradually, hunger tightens his muscles and he slides along the plain ready to hunt. The herd senses his approach and they jerk up, watchful. This is a game of chance in which only one will die, but none knows which the cheetah has his eye on. His speed seems to fling a rope n.th a loose knot around them and he pulls one in.
Analysis
Indolent: Indolent means lazy and he says the cheetah has the gentle,soft eyes of a kitten. busheveld’s innocent: An innocent is one who does not know what evil and wrong are parodied: A parody is a mockery or pokes fun at something serious – so the lazy, puppy-like, awkward cheetah mocks the dangerous leopard pup-content: The poet uses the words ‘pup-content’ as a comparison (metaphor) – the cheetah is like a pup – happy