Geoffrey++Lehmann+-+a+Voyage+of+Lions

Sea-water stained with lion's blood. Our arrows caught a lion Escaping in the foam. The crowds edged cautiously back to the quay And so our convey with its lions set out For Rome and arenas foul with blood.

At night we slept in snatches. In lulls a sudden roar will go From lion to lion and ship to ship. They smell each other in the night-wind. Anchored in a bay we heard A lion’s voice from the hills, And the darkness resounded with every lion Roaring for freedom and Africa

We are dogged by fear and guilt on our voyage, Imagining the death in the areana Of these amible friends Who happily take raw meat we throw them. Gently and casually a male Lays a paw upon his female and looks about Snarling at any threat to her

Having mastered the lion, we find The lions have mastered us. Our clothes are musty from lion hair and dung, And some nights we dance and sing songs by Torchlight, Watched by lions, their whiskers sensing the air. Asleep we dream of cages for ourselves, From which copped up we stare at lions Freely roaming on deck and sniffing the sea