Cecil...

We imagine a King among beasts
we see regal majesty, a commanding
voice and stature; fills childhood
with myth and legend. We see
what we wish and wish so much
that we lose touch with a greater miracle-
the truth of a lion, sire and master
of a daunting harem, hunters and takers
surviving by benefit of thousands years
trials.

We must re-imagine, the plastic brown eyes
the fixed face and imaginary roar
the plastic teeth that look so real and men-acing
and the small man, whose pictured
near the proof of no-further -life; he comes home
to a family and wife to show his pride
that he slaughtered a Pride, paid a princely
ransom, to kill a King



_________
Seems a US dentist had a yearning to kill a magnificent male  lion and paid to shoot an arrow into a national treasure of Zimbabwe- a lion called Cecil. A protected tagged animal who was famous and adored as a symbol of efforts there to preserve the dwindling species.  I do not see the benefit in killing an animal for sport. It is not sport unless the animal has a chance to kill you. The dentist didn't sign up for that tour-- the one where you hunt with camera  or the other one where you hunt alone in the bush with a spear-- I could respect either choice-- but shooting a defenseless animal just for the thrill of killing it-- oh, someone must have mistreated this man as a boy...hdm