A Poem

                                                 A Lion Crouches

A lion crouches—

its solid frame prepared

to pounce—

such power!

A low, guttural rumble

shivers all who hear,

making even the mighty humble,

yet the creature’s strength’s restrained

by silent ropes—

humanity offenses.

Over time the lion gnaws

the bands

and hopes

and breathes a slightly louder growl—

its force commands—

it senses

freedom’s near,

sinking gently its great claws

into its pleasant lands.

One by one, the ropes are torn;

they fall without a sound.

Only one remains—

a wicked cord and tightly bound;

it keeps the lion from standing.

The lion dreams and sees

the rope being ripped

from its being;

It awakes, it breathes deeply,

and it suddenly leaps

and all gasp

as all are seeing

the last cord stripped—

The lion roars!  The lion’s free!

Free at last!

Its mighty presence landing

atop the steeps

itself a resonant scream to the world—

but its roar of freedom

reverberates a truth

that shakes the heights and the deeps

and the core of all who hear—

the king of land is now free

and mighty standing.

Mark Absher

Spontaneously written immediately after the announcement that Barak Obama was declared to have won the presidential election in 2008. (I didn’t vote for him, but I recognized the significance of his election.)