Father's Day Poem by Denis Martindale

The lion king was not opposed
To when his cubs came near,
He was at peace and not engrossed
As neither cub showed fear...
One stretched across his back and played,
The other cub to fight,
The lion king was not dismayed,
He let them scratch and bite...

The cubs were cheerful in their sport,
Their tiny growls amused,
The lion offered no retort,
Nor company refused...
To think, he towered oh so tall,
Yet to these he was kind,
As if he did not fret at all,
As if he did not mind...

Could this be love? To tolerate?
Just let the world pass by?
To silence growls displaying hate,
With grace in full supply?
Each day for him was Father's Day,
He was their Majesty,
Yet why not let them pause to play?
They were his legacy!


Denis Martindale, copyright, November 2014.


The poem is based on the magnificent wildlife
painting by Stephen Gayford nb Google search:

gayfordgallery

Find more wildlife poems using Google search
for the search phrase Stephen Gayford poetry.