Lion At The Zoo Poem by Gert Strydom

Golden eyes full of death
stares back at me
and I can almost smell,
the scent of meat
on it’s breath.

One of its paws strikes threatening
while the yellow-brown tail swishes to and thro
and I see a row of deadly nails spiked in it.

It’s ivory white teeth
glitters in the sunlight,
when it opens its jaws.

a Thundering roar close to me
let the hairs on my arms rise
and I see the pink inside of its mouth.
.
It paces up and down
and keeps on watching me and there’s symmetry
in every step that it takes.

When it walks away
I see a black spot at the end of its tail
and it disappears into the long grass.