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Chipmunk, Cat and Solstice Sun A chipmunk hides on the doorstep, shadow immersed in shade. He inches forward, stops, eyes pleading. The cat freezes on his leash but for the twitch of his tail. A tiger springs from the tabby. Under motes of sun in their longest dance, the chipmunk begs closer. Grass blade tongues point like sentinels. Two umber eyes follow the toss of peanuts. The sun grows hotter as the day stands still. Patient yellow eyes focus on prey. Unblinking eyes, burn under the convex glass of a glaring sun. Will cat's lunge unbraid the lead, unravel the sun in the sky ? A solstice sun neither shivers nor shrinks. Both cat and chipmunk count on the speed of light. The weight of the hour drips from long rays of sunlight. You know the cat, the chipmunk, the taste of hunger, the long-armed day and the waiting darkness. The sky yawns over stories unseen beneath it. © Crane 2002 |  |