Nuits Balneaires, The Lioness’ Prayer (Artist Instagram)
O my brothers, I beat my paws against your chests, stubbled with mud.
If only you could reap fire from my still-beating heart.
Let me be the hero for once — sidekick become sagacious apex.
Hear me even as the roar dwindles in your ears.
See me even as your retinas tear like the savane’s summer grasses.
Speak to me even as your throats are caked with dust.
Sweep away the bright eggs of maggots.
Drown out the drawn-out breaths of your brothers.
Do not yield to the black beast of hunger.
Do not sleep without dreaming.
Gorge on what’s left of this life, what’s left of the light.
Note: Lala, the Ethiopian lioness, died the day after the post-election crisis ended.
Note: The three lions died of starvation, despite the zoo wardens’ best efforts to feed them during the post-election crisis. They are buried under the ancient trees near the zoo.