Sunset On Some Place You've Never Been--John Grey

On a distant planet,
we sit on a flat gray stone,
a couple of pilgrims
encased in purple sunset;
in the distance
above the stunted tree line
we follow the progress
of a great-winged flying beast
and down below,
in its ravenous sites,
a small white furry creature,
frozen and fluttering,
the prey’s front paws
pressing against its mouth
as if muttering a prayer.
while the rest of its terrified pack
scurry to the safety
of their holes in the rock.
You hum an old show tune,
I twiddle my thumbs.
On a distant planet,
far from the first thirty years
of our lives,
from everyone we’ve ever known,
all the old familiar landscapes,
we’d be alone
but for each other
and the sunset,
and the pouncing beast
and the dying act
of a small white thing,
a creature we’ve not named yet.