Edge Of Night! Poem by Denis Martindale

The sunshine has long gone from sight
According to God's will,
To send another country light,
Another day to fill.
Within the depths of darkest night
A lion lingers still.
Conserving every sign of might
Before the time to kill.

The lion's eyes and ears take hold,
To capture all around,
To learn what's going to unfold
Through every sight and sound.
And should some creature, young or old,
Draw near to tread that ground,
Then Nature's deadly tale gets told
In ways that would astound.

The lion cares not for his prey
Once gnawing hunger starts,
He faces facts without delay
And all that death imparts.
Yet Man has hunted night and day,
With traps and poison darts,
With trophy heads to take away,
Displayed as if spare parts.

Judge well the lion and his kind
When hunger serves to warn
And with such hunger still in mind,
Be not so quick to scorn.
What creature could you ever find,
Upon this Earth once born,
That would then act as if inclined,
To starve from dusk to dawn?


Denis Martindale. For the 9th of May 2026.

Here is a wildlife poem by the Poemhunter poet Denis Martindale. The title is EDGE OF NIGHT! and the poem is about the artwork of UK wildlife artist Stephen Gayford. The adult male lion painting portrays the lion as a solitary night hunter. In the poem, the lion is nothing like Man, as the adventurer hunter who seeks trophies to display upon the wall. The poem challenges us to consider how wildlife must respond to intense hunger and how so many creatures kill just to survive another night and day.