The Hare of sacred, mystic enlightenment;

Not only of the spirit, found within us;

But of the dawn, the dawn of day;

The dawn of the year and bringing in;

The awakening of Spring.

The Hare is linked to the Moon;

As it changes its place in the sky;

Never the same shape, always moving;

So the Hare appears in unexpected places;

Pausing before darting, disappearing.

The demeanour of a Hare;

When startled in the open, striking;

An unusual sound, frightening;

Sitting upright, ears erect and waiting;

Ready to leap away like lightning.

By instinct, the Hare makes for the hills;

Long hind legs made for jumping;

Manoeuvring at speed to higher places;

Out-distancing the fastest chasers;

Twisting and turning up to safety.

A Hare lies low in the fields by day;

Flat to the ground in a shallow shelter;

Ears laid flat, camouflaged by Nature;

Perfectly still, no noise, barely a tremor;

Ready to bound away from danger.

No wonder the beloved Hare is known;

As the 'trickster' for its zigzag mazes;

A fond archetype that man embraces;

For its strange and contradictory behaviour;

Traits known to us so well, throughout the ages.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf