Wisdom from Africa Poetry from Year of The Poet (Vol 44)
Featured in The Year of the Poet August, 2017 Volume 44.
Romeo and Juliet, African Style Conservation
Cheetahs fear huge dogs
except one tiny cheetah cub all alone
a woman rescues him
when a man kills his mother
Romeo raised with Juliet
an Anatolian Sheppard pup
together like pack mates
she lays her head on his back
he playfully raises a black and yellow spotted paw
All grown up
she barks at every cheetahs
save for Romeo
together they chase off the fear of extinction
changing the space between
the wild world and farms of Africa
The past is cheetahs killing cattle
farmers killing cheetahs
shooting these carnivores
onto the endangered species’ list
Today Anatolian sheppards
raised with cattle claim the herd as family
barking off cheetahs
run — run 70 miles an hour away from this farm
the huge dogs guarding the future
So all can live
as happily as Romeo
and his Juliet
Hippo Baby A Day or Two Old
Look out on the water
the wind whipping by
feel the speed of the boat
gaze at the distant spray of a waterfall
And suddenly there he is
a hundred pound baby
the size of a large dog
miniature next to his mother
petite pink ears twitching
Delighting people in passing boats
who travel thousands of mile to see him
in the Zambezi River
for this moment a few days after his birth
soon he will weigh tons
grown on water plants and shoreline vegetation
above the natural splendor of Victoria Falls
Today he is cute and tiny
drawing awwww from those who see him
as he splashes up diamond rainbows
then basks with egrets and water bucks
Forget not he is born wild
territorial and aggressive
responsible for more African deaths
than lions and rhinos
take pleasure and give respect
Lioness Almost Tame
For now many generations
lions see humans in jeeps
roaring around the countryside
Tawny cubs playfully coming near
taking their cues from momma
the lioness watchfully relaxed
Humans taking delight
hearing her before she is seen
in the thrill of a short distance between
a lioness calling for her pride
appears out of the dense bush
Two old males rest after stuffing themselves
on a water buffalo stuck in shallow watering hole mud
and news of a pride of lionesses and cubs
suddenly there in the grass
The guides talk excitedly
last know locations exchanged
a line of jeeps
waiting turns a few at a time
visit the lioness and her cubs
as babies learn they have nothing to fear
from humans in jeeps
Enchantment comes with responsibility
to be that human
protecting the environment
for generations of cubs to come
to be the one
from whom there is
nothing to fear
Originally published in The Year of The Poet (Vol 44) at http://www.innerchildpress.com/the-year-of-the-poet.php on August 1, 2017.
