For the raccoon in the cherry tree

Still as the grave,
The intruder perches,
Willing himself invisible.
Knowing that he’s been seen.

With the sun rising,
Time is against him.
Stillness his only protection
And his greatest threat.

Admiring his courage
I call in the dogs.
They haven’t seen him yet,
But awareness shows in every quick step.

The journey from the uppermost branches
To the ground
Must seem a journey of a thousand miles
When you are regretting your hubris.

The crows sound the alarm,
Thieves exposing a thief,
Resenting the competition.