Leo and Bess
Once upon a time there was a big old handsome lion
Wanted - for a mate - by every single lioness.
That lion’s name was Leo, and in all his jungle kingdom,
The feline Leo favored was a pretty one…named Bess.
Now Leo strolled the jungle, with aristocratic gate,
Expecting Bess to swoon, as all the other females would.
But Bess had long felt Leo was a way-too-cocky dude,
And did her best to show she had no interest when she could.
Every day young Leo would lie licking clean his coat,
And very carefully preen himself to groom his golden fur.
He felt his chiseled steel physique would surely turn her head
And had no doubt, with how he looked, he soon would marry her.
The more he flaunted what he felt to be his finest traits,
The more she would ignore him, and pretend he wasn’t there.
And so one day he thought he’d make his greatest effort yet
To lure his favorite feline to the confines of his lair.
He dipped his mane to wash it in a nearby waterhole,
And gargled long and hard to clean his fangs, in case they kissed.
Today, he thought, I’ll win her love. Today she’ll be my bride,
‘Cause Bess is just about to see a stud she can’t resist.
He clipped his claws and then, with giant lightly-moistened paws,
Combed his mane to make it look as though it were a crown.
And he was filled with confidence that Bess would be impressed,
And this would be the day, at last…she would not turn him down.
Why, who on earth, he asked himself, could gaze upon him now
And not fall deep in love with him the moment that he passed?
He wandered through the jungle, in his standard monarch-stride,
Hunting far and wide for Bess, when, there she was…at last.
With nose aloft and eyes half shut, he strutted past his prey,
His tail was even arched…he truly did look like a king,
But Bess had seen him coming and would simply look away.
Poor Leo just laid down and cried. He’d now tried everything.
But then, to his amazement, as he lay there, all alone,
He learned the only strategy that he had never tried
Proved to be the way to Bess’s heart, as - for his tears -
Bess had come to comfort him, and curled up by his side.
It wasn’t long before the two were sharing Leo’s world.
The realm, at last, would have a queen, and…sovereign that he was…
Leo slaved to pamper Bess with all he thought she’d want.
He told himself that, “This is was what a loving husband does.”
But when he found her weeping when he came home late one night,
And asked her why she cried…as he would wipe away a tear…
She said, “It’s not the riches you can give me that I need.
I know you do these things for me, but dear…I need you here.
Leo learned, at last, his great physique and pearly smile
And wealth were not the kinds of things that Bess was dreaming of.
He found that all she wanted was to have him by her side…
A friend that she could always trust…and someone she could love.
PS: I've now got 4 new Audio-CDs - @ 4 1/2 hours each = (62 diversely varied pieces). They’re listed on EBAY - under - “Mark Stellinga Poetry” - or available by simply contacting me at -- mark@writerofbooks.com -- should those of you who enjoy listening to poems as well as reading them - and particularly those of you that travel - care to be so entertained. (We use safe and simple - PayPal)
Cheers,
Mark
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