Red fox at dawn Picks its way across dewy ground Leaving footprints His fur gleams Like fire In the rising sun As if he groomed it Just for this. Ears pricked high His tail a banner for All to see Proud of himself But not vain How could he be vain? A red fox all alone Then joined By another. She turns A signal passes. Then. Wait. Cautiously At first Then faster Come little Fox kits Throwing themselves On the Wet grass Delighted. Then the sun comes Kisses them good morning And sets their coats on fire For all to see. They hold their heads high Then disappear the way they came It would all have been a dream But for the footprints left on the lawn Olivia Smit, 12London, Ontario, Canada
Poetry-Animals
The Whale
The whale gently glides across the surface his sad, long, moaning music enchants all he meets to rejoice the sound would be a wronging for he is sad, lonely, cold his sister has just lost her life and the two-legged ones did it an empty feeling embraces his head and the wind drowns out his thoughts as he peacefully swims away Isaac Goodman, 9Providence, Rhode Island
Horses
George, with his silver-gray fur cantering across bright green grass whinnying softly his white mane blown out by the wind the sun a horizon of bright colors behind him Reaching out to pet the soft brown and white dotted face of Polka Peering out from behind the stall ready to ride * * * All my life I’ve been watching those jumpers in that field wishing it was me. Finally I was ready. The swishing of Violet’s tail and the clop of her canter encouraged me onward. Leaning forward I felt my heart soar into the bright blue sky as Violet leapt into the air almost as if she were flying. Then dropping gently to the ground and coming slowly to a stop. I had done it. I had jumped. Sophia Lipkin, 9Brooklyn, New York
