The Caged Lion Poem by Herbert Nehrlich

I hate this cage.
They tricked me
as I was going
and coming
but mostly resting
in the shade
right in the centre
of my savannah.

The womanfolk,
as is the custom
had gone out early
to catch one of
the new crop of
gazelles, a change
from wildebeest
and desert dogs.

As I was having
this lovely dream
about the female
I had glimpsed
the back of
during the rains,
those mothers
with their Rovers
came and brought
the stench of diesel
and that big net,
flown in from Germany.

I should have known,
those Krauts are skilled
and know just how
to capture the attention
of man and beast alike.

I am the king, of course
and strong beyond belief,
and my agility is,
to put it bluntly,
legendary.
But this was trickery,
they dropped it
from a height
with such finesse
and speed, it scared
the creatures
that I share the living space
and home sweet home with.

So here I am now,
the sign says Frankfurt ZOO,
I see a lot of monkeys,
like Serengeti ants
they stand and stare
at those of us
who live here now.

I rest most of my days,
and dream about
the past, but I have found
that even here
the food is hunted
and supplied
by females happy
to oblige, to serve.
Just like it was
at home.

There is a difference,
of course, there had to be,
the meat is marked
and labelled, in blue ink,
though names like
Sauerbraten,
Hackepeter,
Krautrouladen,
Bauernschinken,
Hasenpfeffer,
Leberkäse
do have a tendency
to cause confusion.

By now, my distant cousins
in the Savannah,
should this note arrive
in time before the rains,
I miss you all, but then
again, life is okay,
except for snow
and the occasional
five year old freckleboy
who wants to play
monkey with me.

Visiting hours though,
are quite precise,
and five pm is time
to snooze until the snack
of Eisbein which is pickled hocks,
but wait for this,
the Sunday is, teutonically
a holy day.
We get, that is, only the lions
Frankfurter Schokoladenpudding,
with Vanillensosse,
it is my favourite.

I'm sending this
down with the hunters,
so must really close now,
and Happy Hunting, girls.