Huntresses

Cubs gambol with their mother's tails
Ochered earth drifts into dust
Sifting onto saffron flanks
Defiant sun inching past Tanzania

One lioness rises, another stirs
Stretching nonchalantly
Amber eyes shift to their quarry
Lingering on the water hole's chalky rim

Wildebeest, tighten, corralling calves
Mother lions leave their pride
Screened by yellow grass
Springing to attack

Hooves stampede from the fray
Bloody prey dragged to an acacia tree
Lion faces buried in meat
Hungry cubs and hyenas wait