A Poem From The South African Bush
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A Poem From The South African Bush

A reflection on being face to face with the king of beasts.

Joergen Ostensen
Apr 15, 2019
Fordham University
191
lion, bush, South Africa, safari
Joergen Ostensen

Meeting the Lion's Eyes

By Joergen Ostensen

3.23.19


His eyes rest upon me

As we wait for the sunrise

His morning melancholy eyes

That searched the bush

All night as he prowled

Under ten thousand blazing stars

Wandering in circles

Crying out with his vicious

Skin tingling roars

Crying out a reminder that where he walks

Belongs to him and him alone.


His eyes rest upon me

As we wait for the sunrise

His wild, penetrating, kingly eyes,

Glowing hazel in the hazy morning

Gleaming knowingly in the half darkness

Eyes that know the answer to every question

Ever asked of them

Eyes holding their truths

The beautifully brutal truths of the bush.


His eyes rest upon me

As we wait for the sunrise

Waiting to close now

The night watch over

Time to calmly enjoy the fruits of labor

As his reign continues

Under star and clouds and sun

The reign of a bold, wild, free spirit

With fear inspiring eyes

Whose presence hangs in the gray air

Emphasized with every restless roar

A presence that someday will

Fade faster than the red from a rising moon.


His eyes rest upon me

As we wait for the sunrise

His weary mournful eyes

Eyes that cannot forget

The taste of battle

Eyes that know too well

The weight of the crown

Eyes that shined as only a father's can

Six different times in those days

During the springtime of his rule

Eyes that know even now

Their beloved sons will destroy him.


His eyes rest upon me

As we wait for the sunrise

His loving, kind, peaceable eyes

Eyes that are windows to a soul

Awaiting the next world

Where they will lie with lambs in the stars

For eternity

A soul holding onto the pains and joys

Of true God given freedom

An existence amidst mythical sunsets

And prophetic stars

Eyes that tell a story

Of peaceful afternoons asleep in the tall grass,

Of raw unadulterated bloodletting,

Of fierce family pride.


His eyes rest upon me

As we wait for the sunrise

Eyes that can feel the wretched specter

Of the encroaching shadow

The shadow that follows

The two legged beings

Who meet his gaze

Now in the moments before sunrise

The gaze of a king

Whose eyes are windows

Into a revelation of what will be

After the revolution

After the return to beautiful wildness

As now the sun slowly breaks the horizon.


His eyes rest upon me

As the sun rises

And so easy to see, to feel, to tremble

Before the beauty

The beauty of meeting the lion's eyes

And seeing they are not full

Of fear, violence and darkness

But love, love, love in the morning

Eyes full and overflowing

With beautiful, wild, free, undefinable love

The love that is the revolution

A love only the wild reveals.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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