Reflecting Reflection - Alexis Henderson

Pen/pencil/water color
24 x 18 inches
 
Watchers
by Nancy E. Dohn
​
Light from the orb above penetrates his eyelids,
a thing that never happened in the dense forest.
He squints open – hoping, but his surroundings are the same.
Rising, he lopes to the tower circle that surrounds him,
a frustrating boundary that he has not grown accustomed to. 
He looks upward, a muscle tsunami rippling through his silver back, but there is no escape.
There’s a well-worn path at the circle’s base,
a result of mindless pacing. 
He begins his back and forth morning ritual, longing for the trails of his ancestors.  
A scraping sound catches his attention, 
a signal that the small, dark square in the circle is opening.
He watches as a bucket is placed inside, recalling when the lush, green forest fed him. 
The Watchers will be here soon, gathering above the pond, where
a vine-like web of shiny branches covers part of the circle.
He tried once to pull on the vine, experiencing a shock of pain that made him fall.
Snorting, he returns to the large boulder in the center of the circle, 
an object unknown in the forest, that now provides cover in an open world. 
He settles at its base, deep inside the protective foliage, watches and waits another day.