"The Cheetah" by Amy Gladwell
Illustration by Eva Kunzova.
Can you see her when she stalks?
No, she is gentle as a shadow.
Think of a waterlily;
It opens wide to benefit from light.
The pupils of her forward-facing eyes do just this.
Nothing in the field is missed.
What she sees is all she ever needs.
Her soul wants nothing more
than this.
Every slight movement that she makes
Is calculated, measured,
thought through with intense care.
Then, suddenly, she leaps up,
Her legs stretch out through the air.
They grasp at any land that she can reach—
But she won’t hold it for long, she will carry on.
Her muscles move her limbs at a rapid rate,
While her head remains poised, focussed, dead straight.
The amount of energy this needs is great,
Far more than she gets from her own heartrate.
She is in full flight now,
Shimmering, soaring, swooping across the plain.
She narrows her sight.
It’s her prize and she knows it,
Her smile shows it.
When all is done, she sinks down,
And softly hits the ground,
Seizing every molecule of oxygen that she can,
effortlessly trying not to make a sound.
She won’t let anything ruin this moment for her.
But she is not proud, or pleased.
She is simply thankful.
Amy Gladwell
I’m Amy and I’m currently working as a Biology lecturer at the Havant and South Downs College. I recently graduated from my degree in Biology and Master of Research degree in Evolutionary Biology and my biggest passion has always been science communication! I hope to continue writing about all my favourite animals and biological systems.