Oh, ageing lioness!
moth-eaten and tooth-sore,
you’re restrained in a cage.
You have lost your fierce roar
and the fire in your eyes
has burnt down to embers.
The lush savanna grass
turned to dust in your claws.
The monkey from your back
picks gristle from your jaws,
and sings a lullaby
each night between your paws.
Kim M. Russell, 15th May 2019
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: In My Element , also linked to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform
Amaya is our host this week with an intriguing prompt that brings together Chinese philosophy, cosmology and the elements. She asks us if we have ever asked ourselves the question: “Of what am I made?” She says if so, we’re not alone: Vedanta philosophy, ancient Greece, modern atomic theory, and even the average inquisitive three-year-old have attempted to determine what it is that comprises our being and our universe. Primitive cosmologies found matter in the four basic elements of earth, air, water, and fire, with the later addition of aether, as well the Chinese also additions of metal and wood.
She would like us to do a little homework and discover what some of these cosmologies say about us. Depending on birth year, month, lunar month, or day, these systems attribute a dominant element to that time frame. We should explore one or more of the above systems and write poems about our elements, or even about the dance (or war) among all the elements as we view them within (or without) us.
writing in north norfolk 
Oh Kim, this is a captivating poem. The life that lioness has lead. And what life still surges still in its heart, and so much richness in that life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Rob!
LikeLike
Oh, Kim. I’m guessing you’re a leo? I don’t care, anyway, this is a great poem, transcending the prompt. There’s such tragedy in seeing a powerful animal caged and tamed. You capture it well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, Sarah. I’m a Leo but I shouldn’t have been, I was born several months too early and, apparently, I was in an incubator for a while. I sometime feel like that old lioness.
LikeLike
You’re a Leo and a monkey maybe. Half of my nearest and dearest are monkeys. Could explain a lot 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You got it!😊
LikeLike
Maybe we’re related 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That poor lioness! I hope she at least has memories of running free to keep her happy. At least the monkey is kindly company.
LOL, my mother and my mother in law are Leos. That’s a sign that’s very, er, used to getting their own way. What a fun prompt! I’m bummed I missed out on it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m more of a Clarence or an Elsa the your usual lion, Rommy.😊
LikeLike
There’s certainly nothing old or worn about this lovely poem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Misky.
LikeLike
Let that lioness come back roaring!
LikeLiked by 1 person
She manages a snarl occasionally!
LikeLike
What an amazing poem! My husband is a Leo. Good people.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Linda!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s interesting that you see yourself this way, caged. I certainly don’t get that sense from regularly reading your poetry and getting to know you in our dVerse conversations. But if you are a Leo and a monkey, I’m pretty sure you’re also born a fire monkey, according to the Chinese calendar. That’s a lot of fiery spirit to contain!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I panic in crowds and am not very good in social situations, so I spend a lot of time at home except for volunteer work with children in schools and at the library. I’d love to get out and about more.
LikeLike
I also meant to say that I really liked your method of showing the two animals’ relationship to respond to the prompt.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Amaya.
LikeLike
Your vivid images dance between dark fairy tale and magical realist living. I really like the last few lines, the way what used to be a burden–the monkey on her back–turns into something to nurture. It seems, that time and experience can tame anything.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes even a burden can be a comfort – better the devil you know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a life caged animals are subjected to. So sad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Sara.
LikeLike
I love this… an aged lioness, but still have the monkey as a friend.. love the image.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Bjorn.
LikeLike
Too bad about the cage but that’s the way it is for now. I caught a lot of flack for having posted a caged monkey that I had befriended. That aside, for me this was a fun read. I loved the monkey helping and the rhyme, irregular(?), helped make an easy read.
..
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a marvelously descriptive poem, Kim. Do you wonder what your reading might have been had you not been born early?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Bev. I do wonder, but there’s no one left to tell me when my due date was, which would have given give me a clue.
LikeLike
She is still a majestic sight to behold!!!…what a great poem, made me feel sad and full at the same time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Things do change over time, and not always for the worse. I adore this poem. It’s touching.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jade.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome, Kim.
LikeLiked by 1 person
SO SO LATE TO READING…….ugh!
But so glad I came to this today…..your words paint this aging lioness so very well.
The last lines
The monkey from your back
picks gristle from your jaws,
and sings a lullaby
each night between your paws.” say so much to me…..perhaps using the “monkey on your back” metaphorically…as in the cares and worries and stresses…..finallly just turning into a lullaby…as in…aging means rest from those to-do lists (gristle in the jaw)…..oh I’m connecting with this one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so pleased you like it, Lill!
LikeLike