You, The Cheetah

• Flynn Hawkey, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2018

My hooves, crash against the floor,
Your claws, semi-retractable, reaching further
And further.
The heart beneath my ribs,
Pumping, pumping.
One hundred and ten to one hundred and twenty
Coming at me
Me, only at forty-eight,
I will always lose the race.
Those dark, dim eyes, my rugged antlers,
Looming onwards, my one demise.
Everyday, your teeth sinking into me,
Bowing my head, the head that's too big for me,
I'm running, sprinting, prancing, bounding and springing and galloping and flying and
falling.
You're forever behind me, my shadow.
You, the cheetah–