by Kathleen Allen
Back and forth the endless pacing
filled with the longing to be free
but man in his wisdom has decided
this is how his life will be
Not for him the African sun
his ancestors had known before
not for him to stand on a mound
and fill the air with his great lion roar
Taken for ever the animal joy
to lie with his mate beneath the stars
denied the age old hunt for food
as it's pushed on a stick between the bars
and to our children we proudly state
here stands the king of the jungle now
heed not his anguish in the cage
heed not his head in sadness bowed
stripped of dignity and pride
to the staring crowd he slowly turns
and deep within those golden eyes
the light of faraway land still burns.
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