To think that the adult lion
Was once a tiny thing.
So his mother kept her eye on
This one who would be king.
She knew that he was full of life,
Vivacious, full of fun!
Yet he must learn to conquer strife
And fight until he's won.
No easy street, no gentle road,
No straight smooth path ahead...
For him, there was a higher code,
Just like a thoroughbred...
Each day would be a battlefield,
Pretenders for his throne,
Contenders waiting still concealed
Until they are full grown...
For now he was a handsome beast
With tiny hidden scars...
Aware that others never ceased,
He dare not let them pass...
He met each challenge with a sneer
And then a grisly growl...
Yet knowing he would win and jeer
And hear his loser howl...
It's Nature's way... it's raw, it's wild,
It's life and death, my friend...
No place for those so meek, so mild,
With no thought to defend...
This handsome lion knows his worth,
His offspring know it, too...
His mother knew it from his birth...
A winner through and through!
Denis Martindale, copyright, April 2010.
My Poetry website: http://poem.says.it
The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Handsome'.
Shared on http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/handsome-3/
The Stephen Gayford Gallery website is here:
http://www.gayfordgallery.com
Update: My poem, 'An Ode To Stephen Gayford' is featured in
the website's News Section!
http://www.gayfordgallery.com/news.htm
There's also a Guest Book!
http://users2.smartgb.com/g/g.php?a=s&i=g25-52612-21
The Stephen Gayford poems can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/gayfordpoems or
http://tinyurl.com/gayfordpoems2
http://denis-martindale.blogspot.com
The framed pictures are bought from these UK websites:
http://www.bid.tv (on UK Freeview and Sky)
http://www.price-drop.tv (on UK Freeview and Sky)
http://www.speedauction.tv (on Sky)
