By Jason Zapata

“Its better to live one day as a Lion, than live one hundred years as a Sheep.”

My days are spent in torment.
Ever prodded by a chair and whip
To jump through flaming hoops.
I hear their clapping. My soul dies.
Humiliation even while caged,
Gawked at through bars of iron.
But night falls and I’m comforted
By dreams of the Savanna.

In dreams of the Savanna
I roam freely and without shame
Proudly does my roar proclaim
I’m a beast no man may tame

Pride stirred within me today,
I was tired of mocking applause.
Enraged at the garishly dressed man
And this long played out routine.
With a snarl I approached him,
Determined to end this spectacle.
In this moment I am comforted
By dreams of the Savanna.

In dreams of the Savanna
Wind flows through my mane
I stalk prey across the plain
A king resuming his reign

Cheers turn into satisfying screams.
My eager jaws clamped down tightly,
Atop the little man’s exposed throat.
The whip falls from slackened fingers.
A victory short lived. More men arrive.
There’s the sharp crack of rifles,
In this moment I am comforted
By dreams of the Savanna.

And I no longer have to wake…