In her clean cage
With fresh straw, juicy meat,
And gentle, caring zoo-keeper;
I know how the caged lion feels.
She has but one stress;
One all-consuming drive
From every cell inside her.
She needs to get out.
She needs to get away
From her cage.
Her muscles ache
To stretch and run;
She yearns to see the bush
And wide open places again.
But she must languish in her cage;
Well fed, well tended and safe.
Safe from the wild and the unknown;
But not safe from the pull of her soul.
She was caged and man was free;
But nature struck
And now we too know.
We know how the caged lion feels.
READ MORE POEMS BY SHARON HEANEY STANSFIELD