Priorities
by Susan Zahn
Dust
silently stirs beneath his shod feet.
Sweat beads his brow
in the hot jungle heat.
Ignoring the insects, blazing a
trail,
Not even wondering if he might fail.
He pauses in
profile, ear cocked toward a danger,
Sensing betrayal in way
of a stranger.
With a flick of the wrist and a snap of taut
leather,
He banishes the threat to the Peruvian
heather.
Onward he marches, undeterred by events.
Heart
beating faster, with a thrill he can sense
His goal growing
closer. A statue appears,
Covered by vines, perhaps hidden
for years.
Oblivious to warning, he continues the
fight,
Following a tunnel but avoiding the light.
And now
within sight of his long-awaited quest,
His dark eyes grow
wide, lit up like the obsessed.
And I wonder, was it a love
for what's old
That kept driving him, or just lust for that
gold!