Ever Alert! Poem by Denis Martindale

The lioness and young cubs lived upon the dry lands there,
Sometimes to stay, sometimes to drift, yet not without some care.
The young cubs can't fight off their foes when helpless as can be!
Since this fact the lioness knows, ever alert is she!

Her eyes gaze left, her eyes gaze right, surveying far and wide,
The sole observer of each sight, protector, mother, guide.
As she was raised like this before, it's her sole duty now,
The dangers there she can't ignore, she stays alert somehow.

Thirsty or hungry, she's on guard, preventing all attacks,
Yes, even when survival's hard, their mother's got their backs.
The cubs are calm when she stays near, with nothing much to do,
They seldom run away in fear, because her love stays true.

That's why the cubs will grow and grow, yes, stronger every day,
Until these two like hunters go with courage, come what may.
Yes, if they prove the lucky ones that Nature seeks to bless,
They become the so-called young guns, with no more need to guess.

Right now, the cubs aren't in their prime! They're not much use at all.
The mother seeks that future time, when both stand brave and tall!


Denis Martindale. The 5th of June 2026.


Here is a new wildlife poem by the Poemhunter poet Denis Martindale.

The title is Ever Alert! It is about the Stephen Gayford painting and that title.

A lioness and her two cubs are seemingly taking in yet another day, but that's not enough to describe the difference between the ever-alert mother and her carefree cubs. Without her on guard, their lives would be at the mercy of the other predators. It may seem an ordinary scene, but how else would those lion cubs become the lions that Nature intended them to be?

The human version is that children are raised in different countries and cultures to reach adulthood, not just to become labourers but also inventors, visionaries, and entrepreneurs. That's why peace between nations is Man's primary ambition meant for the common good.