Proud Father! Poem by Denis Martindale

The lion and his cub were close,
The father with his son,
Yet for what future, Heaven knows,
The things that would be done...
For now, the cub had much to learn,
The months would turn to years,
Perhaps his legend yet to earn,
If courage conquered fears...

The cub was innocent, of course,
Knew nothing much at all,
Was ignorant of Nature's Laws
And duties yet to call...
So he played catch and snatch the tail
And chewed cubs' ears as well,
As if he were the alpha male
With stories he could tell...

Proud fathers know what young ones think
And let them fool around,
Like their own fathers used to blink
At every sight and sound...
Too soon such childhood pranks must fade,
The years will take these, too,
Till junior stands unafraid,
So strong he frightens YOU!


Denis Martindale, copyright, January 2014.


The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Proud Father'.


Find more wildlife poems using Google search
for the search phrase Stephen Gayford poetry.