' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' In The Big Lion’s Mouth(For Scarlett) Poem by Dónall Dempsey

You stand
in the lion’s mouth

like an X
come alive from an alphabet

or a
chromosome.

Your feet
stand firmly

on its roaring
tongue

you tread it down
as your hands uplift

the frightful jaws
the ferocious teeth.

You smile
and look very sweet.

A perfect
little girl

happy with herself.

You made
this lion yourself

(and so are not afraid of it)

you shaped
and fired it

Its gaudy colours
delighted with themselves.

And now
you stand here

real as
a photograph

placed between
such teeth

hold time
at bay

a little girl
in the big lion’s mouth.`