BeastElastic, subtle, canny, rapidor maybe merely doggedwhich as the very word would suggest_____can apply to them all too well,animals inhabitanother world of cognition
from you and me(whatever you reckonabout the deep intellect_____of your siamese catwhich mainly behaves like a memberof your home team).
Agouti and antelopeare just not human at all,though dolphins can sing along_____if not exactly in tune,while the lion with its pelt of goldsimply exceeds us, a king.
Sheer glory, those muscles ripplingunder a sleek pelt — for thosewho respond to such beauty;_____we know too littleabout the introspectioneven of mares and stallions.
We are all tempted to saythat a dog could feel guilty:our own Fido, at least._____But envy? Or nostalgia?And does the bounding leopardrejoice in his great leap?–Chris Wallace-Crabbe
Owed to beesIndustrious servant of excellent fame,You sting to protect the hive, then you die.It seems as if you empathise the same,As man's rare trait of heeding another's cry.Instinct is such an unworthy name,Which calls a selfless attitude, a lie.You cause each flower to bear and contriveTo produce crops we need to survive.
Humans do not actively pursue a bee's favour.Why does your fervour get you to gatherA glut of nectar. We benefit from your bee-haviour.If you ever got lazy and languished ratherThan work like some buzz-sawing raver,We would be left in a considerable lather.The honey you make excessively, slowly degrades.It's healthier than sugar, whose effectiveness soon fades.
Honey retards the growth of staphlycoccus aureus.This resistant germ defeats all tries to destroy it.Even antibiotics have been less than victorious.Honey, lemon and chilli makes Thai, and we enjoy it.O, striped insect, are you tired and less salubrious?One extra great effort, you can deploy it.To avoid a monumental natural disaster,Heal yourself with your miracle bandaid plaster. –Margaret Cameron
Chris Wallace-Crabbe chairs the newly-established Poetry Australia Limited. His New & Selected Poems is forthcoming from Carcanet Oxford Poets. He still plays tennis.