Indian Sentinel

The tiger stared as tigers do Across his own domain, A remnant of the chosen few On Earth who still remain... When Winter comes and times are hard, As hard as frozen snow, The tiger's always on his guard, No matter, high or low... The seasons pass and daylight's short And eyes must stay alert, For any creature to be caught And dangers that may hurt... The tiger's seen these days before And yearns for Spring's return, Then Summer to appear once more And sunshine's heat to burn... For now, survival's game is played And hunger takes its toll... And though at times he looks dismayed, He's brave within his soul... Endurance and tenacity, These strengths have served him well... He hopes another year to see... Yet of this, who can tell? The poem is based on the magnificent painting by Stephen Gayford called 'Indian Sentinel'. The Stephen Gayford poems can be viewed here: denis-martindale-dot-blogspot-dot-com