Safe Refuge

The leopard and the cub look fine, At rest, laid low, relaxed, For there are times to draw the line, Take ease, no longer taxed... No human clock to set the pace, No wristwatch ticking slow, Nobody near with glaring face To say they had to go... As long as hunger's not so tense And thirst's lost all its powers, With nothing there to cause offence, They could stay there for hours! Just lounging, nothing there to do, Just laying side-by-side, Just staying there the whole day through, With sunshine God supplied... I'm jealous, here, in January! It's bitter out again! There's snow outside upon each tree And on each window pane! With central heating costs so high And Spring so far away, Those leopards really make me sigh... I'm freezing here today! Denis Martindale, copyright, January 2013. The poem is based on the magnificent painting by Stephen Gayford called 'Safe Refuge'. More Stephen Gayford poems here: denis-martindale-dot-blogspot-dot-com