Thursday, October 6, 2016

Lion

the old lion lifts his mane
scars tattoo forelimbs & face
a sequel to 
scraps & skirmishes
an easy gaze
on river pool
where buffalo family gambol
& robins & kingfishers 

swirl &
slice the air

calf wanders unseen
toward

the pulsing camouflage
a few green-brown yards away from

open nostrils & cloud of flies
slowly, an urge to strike, 
to brush aside inertia, rising
in the belly
of the seasoned one ,,,,
then: quickly
buffalo mum, eye now turned eagle, canters
from the shallows; & with
guiding horns
sweeps the toddler away

our languid giant
loses appetite
for bruising blood-letting bash 

with
hardened spikes - horns remembered
all too well
from some other sunday
in the highveld sun 

F.M.


Sketches - Frank Meintjies