The Captive Lion

The Captive Lion written by William Henry Davies

From "The Song of Life", 1920

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Thou that in fury with thy knotted tail
Hast made this iron floor thy beaten drum;
That now in silence walks thy little space -
Like a sea-captain - careless what may come:

What power has brought your majesty to this,
Who gave those eyes their dull and sleepy look;
Who took their lightning out, and from thy throat
The thunder when the whole wide forest shook?

It was that man who went again, alone,
Into thy forest dark - Lord, he was brave!
That man a fly has killed, whose bones are left
Unburied till an earthquake digs his grave.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.