The Hunter and the Fox
In darkest night she cries for her release.
She speaks her words and from shadows they steal.
Too late she rues her rash request for peace,
And in her fear she begs a dangerous deal
From one who watched her long through crystal eyes
And, smiling, discounts her moving appeal.
She rejects his shallow comforts, defies
Him in her apprehension and her ire.
With an eerie laugh, he at last, complies,
To let her try her prize to reacquire
Should she win the game that he require
Down cobbled paths she runs against the clock
Determined to win back her treasured prize.
He watches from above in growing shock
As she triumphs over each new surprise.
He's enchanted with her youthful fire.
Amazed by her resolve, which never dies.
In fevered dreams he kindles desire
But again she is able to confound
His goals and meet him in the tallest spire.
Her dire words raze his fortress to the ground.
She and her brother are home safe and sound.
Now he watches her through his crystal eyes
Covertly observing her through her days
Still coveting his unharvested prize
Alone, high above the neglected maze
In a fragile fortress he built anew
He broods, and waits with a distracted gaze.
The chance will come to yet again pursue
The prize that once evaded his control
Then his prize he will capture and subdue
and although it was the child he stole
the child hadn't ever been his goal