POETRY FOR LION CONSERVATION

We have incredibly talented supporters who have on several occasions been moved to spread the word about the plight of lions through poetry. In our last newsletter, we shared with you a poem from a young supporter (click here to read the poem). Today we have another powerful poem to share with you.

This poem is written by Anusha Gupta. In her words “I thought of dedicating this poem to World Lion Day, but then I realized that we don’t need an occasion to celebrate these magnificent beasts!” We certainly agree and hope that this poem inspires others as much as it did us!

 

We tread through life, to achieve what we desire, want and need,
We hear about wildlife conservation, but do we really pay heed?
“Why do we care? Lions live so far away,
They don’t impact our lives in any conceivable way”
But we must open our eyes to realize, that their world is just next door,
We’ve been the encroachers, the poachers and the ones that ignore,
The plight, the misery – the right to be a lion, stolen at birth.
What a terrible place will this be, when they no longer walk this earth.
Not very far away, lions are bred to be killed in a can,
Their souls are traded for money and the greed of man.
Where cubs are starved, so they don’t grow up too fast,
Where bones are sold, where paws never touch the grass.
We must conserve what we disrupted, give back the lands we stole,
Saving wildlife is not a favor, it is what we are accountable for.
Years from now, when you sit with your children, by the fireplace,
Reminiscing the past world and the greener days,
I hope you wouldn’t have to admit,
That we knew a magnificent animal – and we did nothing to save it. 

– Anusha Gupta –