Wildcat

standing, still, watching.

I catch a glimpse of a rippling tabby pelt,
small paws, glinting claws.
a dark figure,
wandering majestically through the undergrowth.

as soundless as a wispy cobweb
caught up by the wind,
he stalks a leaf like it’s a delicate mouse.

I wonder if he will catch it.

I watch as the light breeze plucks up the leaf.

his muscles bunch up under his skin,
and he makes a leap, so high,
that is seems like he is trying to grab the very edge of the universe.

he bats the leaf out of the sky,
pins it down.
head held high, he is a true wildcat.
sights like these are truly magnificent,
and you can see why he is so special.

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This poem was highly commended for Poetry Object 2015

Judge's Notes:
"This poem is remarkable both for its exact descriptions and for the originality of its images. It is also remarkable for how it advances as the cat does. The poem is slow and delicate when the cat is stalking; it leaps forward boldly as the cat leaps. Even the structure of the poem fits this sense of the cat’s movement. We start with stillness, small lines and stanzas, and then the poem has a sudden expansiveness. It is wonderful to have thought through all these part of the poem – description, pacing, rhythm, structure – so that they all work together. It means that every part of this poem works to make us feel as though we are watching the cat move. For the leap, there is that memorable sudden image: ‘it seems like he is trying to grab the very edge of the universe’."
~Lisa Gorton, Poetry Object Judge 2015