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Poetry

Please read and enjoy these submissions!

Remember to take note of the code (poe1-poe39) and to vote here for first place, here for second place and here for third place.

poe30: 0LD SCRUFF

He was King for as far as he could see
As he stretched his belly out under the old thorn tree.
Last night his mates had made a kill
Now he lay senseless having eaten his fill.
Far from being an ordinary simba this
He was fat and lazy and lived a life of bliss.

His life had a happy and contented start
And was born somewhere in the middle of the Kruger park
Nothing about him could lay claim to fame,
He was dirty and scruffy and sported a moth eaten mane.
He was too lazy to hunt but sometimes tried
He was also smelly, ugly, and very cross-eyed.

They tolerated him, the females of the pride
And his offspring loved him and were always at his side.
They too would grow up to be slobs like their sire,
Good natured, big bellied and lacking in fire.
Being cross-eyed, moth eaten and lazy was their fate
Because they had all inherited this embarrassing family trait.

When the weather was cloudy and brought on the rains,
The other lions that hunted out on the plains
Avoided old Scruffy as if he had plague.
He embarrassed them by being so innocent stupid and so vague.
He should have been bold and fearless and brave,
Instead he was useless, shiftless and looked on a knave.

His reputation had spread far and wide
This cross-eyed lion with the battered hide.
The game came from miles around and gazed in awe
Just to see him lift his massive belly off the floor.
Even his wives often stayed his
Just to se his belly get up long after he did.

His contribution towards the hunt
Was to lie out on the plains and give a cough and a grunt
Sometimes he even managed a roar’
The game ignored him and thought him a bore.
Because he was a slob and not very keen,
His wives had become capable and hunted unseen.

Unlike any other lion as far as it goes,
He had a curious gait and walked on his toes.
This gave him a sway and a drunken stagger,
But it was only his big belly that caused him to swagger.
Sometimes he would walk out on the plain
But this tired him and gave him a pain.

So the days passed for old Scruffy and his pride
Sometimes taking for himself a young and comely bride
Who tried to gaze with love into his eye
But ended up confused and not knowing why.
She had consented to become another young wife,
Where providing for him was her new way of life.

So he grew older and lived out his days,
Taking life easy and teaching his ways
To his sons and great grand sons.
You who are visitors to the park are the ones
Look for the beauty of the plains and the blue of the skies
Also look for his off spring; you will know them, because they all have cross-eyes.

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