Once a Leopard

Blackbirds and undulate bush Trapped in time's tapestry-- The fluid hide of the big leopard Who leapt on cushioned feet Once to race the swiftest Scents in the wind-- A proud And muscular beauty, the leopard, Left alone now does not stalk But paces on bare concrete Where chunks of prey fall cold By his dung, by his hidden claws. He walks in rhythms of gone sound-- Chuckles and howls, hooves in sprints, Shrieks of struggles in his teeth. He does not stalk; he paces now Behind the bars of our amusement-- Another of God's profound ideas Revised by men.