He slips from the forest’s edge
as if the trees have released him,
fur holding the hush of shadow and light.
No sound announces his arrival,
only the meadow’s sudden knowing.
In moments, distance collapses.
Hundreds of feet vanish beneath him,
strength moving with impossible quiet,
muscle flowing like dark water
beneath a coat brushed by earth and sun.
He is pure beauty and power.
A presence without warning.
His body carried low and steady,
refined by instinct older than memory.
The meadow does not resist him.
It opens, it yields, it listens.
Here is the wild distilled,
swift, immense, and unseen until it is already too close.
Image captured in Grand Teton National Park
Spring, 2023
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens
