It was not meant for human eyes, That combat on the shabby patch Of clods and trampled turf that lies Somewhere beneath the sodden skies For eye of toad or adder to catch. And having seen it I accuse The crested animal in his pride, Arrayed in all the royal hues Which hide the claws he well can use To tear the heart out of the side. Body of leopard, eagles head And whetted beak, and lions mane, And frost-grey hedge of feathers spread Behind -- he seemed of all things bred. I shall not see his like again. As for his enemy there came in A soft round beast as brown as clay; All rent and patched his wretched skin; A battered bag he might have been, Some old used thing to throw away. Yet he awaited face to face The furious beast and the swift attack. Soon over and done. That was no place Or time for chivalry or for grace. The fury had him on his back. And two small paws like hands flew out To right and left as the trees stood by. One would have said beyond a doubt That was the very end of the bout, But that the creature would not die. For ere the death-stroke he was gone, Writhed, whirled, into his den, Safe somehow there. The fight was done, And he had lost who had all but won. But oh his deadly fury then. A while the place lay blank, forlorn, Drowsing as in relief from pain. The cricket chirped, the grating thorn Stirred, and a little sound was born. The champions took their posts again. And all began. The stealthy paw Slashed out and in. Could nothing save These rags and tatters from the claw? Nothing. And yet I never saw A beast so helpless and so brave. And now, while the trees stand watching, still The unequal battle rages there. The killing beast that cannot kill Swells and swells in his fury till Youd almost think it was despair. Edwin Muir
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 17:28:30 +0000
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