Mirror at the forests edge

Walking through this forest
Of towering pine and elm
This is where I feel at home
Inner peace dwells within this realm

As I continue to trudge
I hear a branch break
I look below the bush beside me
To see a fox begin to wake

Here we stand face to face
Two hunters stand eye to eye
Alert comes fast from fear
All sense of sleep begins to die

He pushes his back against the base
Teeth in an angry grin
I stare deep into the beasts eyes
To the soul that lies within

No sign of fear just caution
Expressed inside his mind
Memories flash before my eyes
Of tortures dealt by mankind

Realization washes over me
I rise and walk away
I look back to the fox behind me
And something in his eyes says stay

But I can't for I know
What my kind had done
My people torment these animals
Kill them one by one

We share the same emotions
We both feel love and pain
We both feel trapped in solitude
Both alone in our domain

As I walk out from under the treetops
In my mind I begin to dredge
I look back to see the fox lurking in the shadows
There is a mirror at the forests edge

written for a contest