Hairless, almost. 
     Down upon arms 
          And legs 
               And chest 
                    And back.

The knuckles 
     Of burly 
          Fumbling hands 
               Scraped the 
                    Jungle bush. 

Arms, muscular, 
     Sinewed and agile 
          Tore at the grasses, 
               The fruits, the seeds 
                    The tissue, the flesh. 

Eager eyes 
     Devoured the detail 
          Scanning the peace 
               With ears and 
                    Suspicious nose. 

Then we locked gaze. 
     The hunter, or hunted? 
          But, the beast was spooked 
               And burst from crouch 
                    To flight into depths and dark. 

                    Only at this point 
               Did I realise 
          I looked 
     Into the eyes 
Of the man.

Ted Hughes, English poet, playwright and writer, was born on this day in 1930.

Frederick the Great, Prussian monarch and military leader, died on this day in 1786.