QUADRUPEDS

“Quadruped:” What does it mean?
Thunder of hooves across the plains;
Cowboy herds or cossack hordes;
Speed and freedom and flying manes.

Or, slowly through the shadows,
The sloth slung among the vines,
Hung happily in forest stillness,
Toes tight round the looping lines.

Splashing bears go scooping salmon.
Hopping rabbits fill the dusk.
Ghostly squirrels float like thistledown.
Ponderous elephant sharpens a tusk.

Kangaroo, leaping long-distance;
Tortoise in armour knows its place;
Skulking wolf or scrambling gibbon:
Different lifestyles, different pace.

Prowling low or swinging high:
Four-footed variety, from sea to sky.