Attentive

When meerkats stand and stare and stare,
Attentive they must be,
As if to prove how much they care
For friends and family...
No wonder, then, they gain respect,
From humans far and wide,
As from such duties none neglect
As they stand side-by-side...

Their little eyes are on alert,
Their little minds on guard,
In hopes that none of them get hurt,
For tragedies hit hard...
While other meerkats scampered near
As if life seemed a ball,
Two meerkats stood, no sign of fear,
Merely surveying all...

In time, some others would replace
And give these guys a rest,
For now, they stood there, poker face,
Content to do their best...
Two heroes there, one young, one old,
Four eyes as black as soot
And theirs the story to be told
Because their hearts were good...

Denis Martindale, copyright, April 2012.

The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Attentive'.

More Stephen Gayford poems here:
denis-martindale-dot-blogspot-dot-com

poem by Denis Martindale
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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