The orange-colored cat sits
atop the wooden fence post,
instead of like a lighthouse
searching for ships to lead
into safe waters, it is alert
to rustles in dry grass
or mouse steps scurrying
a blur over there!
A red-tailed hawk settles
into statue of patience
surveying its realm for the day.
Its wings fold like old lady hands
praying in the pew; its eyes
as stern as the pastor preaching
fire and brimstone from the pulpit.
The bald eagle perches on branches
for a bird’s eye view of the field
mounded over with prairie dog
towns built in dirt subdivisions
where a shadow overhead
is permission to visit a neighbor
without knocking.
The orange-colored cat sits
like a shore full of rocks
licking its lips
for an incautious ship
to sail close to its fangs.