REYNARD: The Rouge & Tawny Red

[Earth Hart]

The setting sun colours the sky in shades of red as Reynard gets up to sniff the evening air.
He leaves the old Oak, where he'd holed up, to start his rounds of the fields & hedges,
looking for a meal of vole or mouse to break his fast.
A scent mark here, a scent mark ther, to let all know that Reynard is here.
'Keep Out, this is my patch'

Along the field boundary he hears movement,
with ears atwitch he listens and judging the distance,
and with cat-like grace, he leaps high & pounces.
The field mouse didn't know what hit him as his life ended.
A quick wash & brush-up and on to meet vixen & the cubs,
He'd better pisk up a take-away for her,
else she'll be none too pleased if he arrives empty pawed.

With senses working overtime, he hears a distress call.
A yound crow fallen from its nest, ah,KFC with feathers,
that'll please her, pity it's not rabbit.
Still, there's plenty of time to catch a game dinner.
He drops the crow by the earth, calls and moves away,
up comes vixen & their young, the cubs jump on Reynard,
Vixen bites off the feathers and feeds it to the cubs.

Reynard sets off to find more prey for them to eat,
A Tawny Owl calls and flies up the field hunting for its own young,
its mate answers from the broomstick Ash, where she's raising their brood.
The rufus-coated killer watched, waited & listened,
seeing rabbits out around their warren under the Ash.
He now had to catch one, or even two, to make a good meal
if he was to keep in the vixen's good books and stay near the cubs.

As he approached down wind of the warren, a lone rabbit looked up.
Thump, thump, the alarm was raised and rabbits dived for cover.
One wasn't so quick and didn't make it to safety, yet he lived.
Rabbit jinked this way & that, trying to out-fox fox,
there looked no escape but rabbit had other ideas.
He stopped suddenly and fox ran over him in surprise.
Swiftly rabbit turned and ran for the warren, he made it,
and Reynard was out of luck, he sat on hishaunches panting.

The crescent moon was low in the sky as Reynard made his way home.
Tonight, vixen & he would go hungry for once,
still, they had gorged well last night on a still-born roe fawn,
which he'd dragged back over the fields to the earth.
The faint fore-glow of the rising sun told Reynard that dawn had arrived.
Time to do the last rounds of the fields & hazel copse,
and see if he can pick up a snack before bedding down.
Plenty of snails, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside,
they go down well with Ramsoms leaves & fine spring water.
Roe buck calls from the wood, the does & fawns leave the field for cover.
Reynard strolls along the path by the rhyne to the old Oak.
Into the roots he goes, home at last, and now to sleep
Good Day.

[stirling]

another great piece of writing earth hart.
best,from mike.

[Ann2]

Enchanting!

Ann

[Earth Hart]

Thanks Mike, glad you liked it. It's been up for some time so it's nice to have a responce, cheers