by Thomas D. Reynolds
Two armies slither
upon the rocks
like serpents positioning
themselves for a strike.
Nearly motionless,
they make final adjustments,
tails curling to the side
while the heads arch back,
anticipating their prey,
and then all is motionless,
waiting for the flick of a tail
followed by a frenzied rush.
Through the long afternoon
only hours before dusk,
the prey refuses to break
while the attacker playfully taunts,
In the darkening sky,
night is the scavenger
waiting for carrion,
devouring all that's left.
Thomas D. Reynolds received an MFA in creative writing from Wichita State University, currently teaches at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, and has published poems in various print and online journals, including New Delta Review, Alabama Literary Review, Aethlon-The Journal of Sport Literature, Flint Hills Review, The MacGuffin, The Cape Rock, The Pedestal Magazine, Eclectica, Strange Horizons, Combat, 3rd Muse Poetry Journal, and Ash Canyon Review.