Muntharr
I saw that you noticed me,
at least what you imagined me to be.
You spied a glance,
then shying behind a hair fern,
peeking, as you chanced small steps in my direction.
Quietly. Softly.
Detection avoidance masks your intention,
and carries you towards me.
Ever so close to me now, you are,
and your shadow now melted into the moonless night.
Your presence is barely noticeable but for the starlight,
as is mine.
You can see me clearly, almost upon on my very being,
Cloaked in darkness.
But I can taste you,
even from my lair here beneath,
as summer breeze flows over me,
scattering as it does, the sunburnt leaves surrounding us.
All is well, as you estimate me, your prey.
It is almost over, done.
Your feed to become my destiny, my forever loss.
Small grub that I am, emerging from the soil.
With one sudden explosive movement,
It is now all over.
A once enlightened body, lies limp.
Even one last breath is now too cumbersome,
And it seeps feebly from within,
never more to be.
You will now never know, nor tell a soul,
that the path you secreted down,
was in fact my own.
And the earth you trod upon was actually me.
Together we pounced.
But my tail, your meal,
disappeared before you.
And the ground beneath you fell.
My true self fully revealed before you,
and fangs deeply sunk within your skin.
I am Muntharr, night prowler.
Predator king of the starlit night.
*Muntharr = Death Adder in the traditional Kamilaroi / Gamilaraay Australian Aboriginal language from Northern NSW, including areas such as Moree, Tabulam, Tenterfield, and Casino. Where I used to eat turtles and Echidna with the locals by the river.
