A poem, a photo and a lion

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The photo

What a beautiful day to be a lion
under the lilac sky of dawn
with a belly full
and a pride complete
and nothing to do but yawn

And then the hordes they come,
across the empty plain
their lenses clean
and focal lengths
all set upon my mane.

Lion - they shout
while leaning on the bar
Look up, look fierce, and roar
they plead from
the safety of their car.

The grass - it’s
green and far too high
and oh no, the light’s not right
And now its time to leave
I hear them sadly cry.

And off they go
the dusty, fuming crowd
to upload, download and delete
their snaps of grass and tail
into a virtual cloud.

What a beautiful day to be a lion
under the lilac sky of dawn
to ignore the shouts
and pleas
with nothing to do but yawn.

Mara Naibosho Conservancy, Kenya, a young male lion

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