Panther

Black figures walk the ranges
Whispers amongst the gum trees
Once captive and caged
Found misplaced by foreign fauna

Locals say it’s just a stray
An overgrown pest
A figment of imagination
The forest was always empty

But history holds secrets
Colonial chains cut loose
Wildness run free

Finding silence in the canopy
Footsteps in the undergrowth.

Darkness was cast out.
But shadow lingers on the land
Reflecting fear in glassy eyes

Spark the mountains burn
Pitch smoke fills the air
Blanketing the lungs

Eery quiet in the towns
Crackles in the grass
Illuminated presence

Custodians reclaim
Charcoal draws the borders
Song lines sing in fire

A hungry golden stare
Faces formless in the haze