It's Been A Long Day Poem by Denis Martindale

The lion cub had loads of fun
Upon that sunny day,
Alas, the power of the sun
Took all his strength away,
His little eyes had seen enough
And so he chose to rest,
He thought that he was strong and tough,
That's why he did his best.

His little eyes began to close,
Yet slowly opened still,
Till he could barely see his nose
Or seek another thrill.
The other cubs chose not to fight
And they slumped on all fours,
They, too, chose not to chew or bite,
But rested on their paws.

The parents knew the cubs would sleep
Completely tuckered out,
No more to pounce, no more to leap,
No more to run about.
Although they kept awake for now,
The cubs would doze and doze,
This happened every day, somehow,
Just as each parent knows!


Denis Martindale.7th September 2026


Here is a wildlife poem by Poemhunter poet Denis Martindale. In this poem entitled 'IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY' he describes a typical scene created as a Stephen Gayford wildlife painting with that same title. The painting is about another day on the Savannah plains beneath a hot, hot, hot, hot sun. Full of the joys of Summer, lion cubs are prone to play, fool around and bite and chew each other in whatever new attack they thought of.

Nature was preparing the cubs for future battles, and for frantic fights that would certainly not be as timid or as feeble as now. The 'survival of the fittest' strategies had already been in force, but later these would develop into terrifying battles. Nature wanted the fights to demonstrate the ultimate winner! The best of the best! The winner that would become the Lion King!