Acsend

She was the runt of the litter,

Grew in the shadow of a larger, stronger

King of the jungle,

This was her place,

To watch and learn, never overpower

Never learnt how to roar

Pushover, chased her own tail

Willing herself into submission,

Watched from behind her whiskers,

Learnt to make her feet fall

Softer than the wind,

Ran like lightning, far away

From all that terrified her,

Till there was nowhere to run,

Had to stand her ground

In the desert of desolation, starve or die, 

Faced with the scorpion, 

Her dreaded adversary,

As she circled her, kill or walk away

All her instincts screaming the latter

But this was her retribution,

Thunder strikes, the nocturnals watch

She can’t run anymore, this was it,

And she ate the alluring beast,

Swallowed her whole, poison and all, 

Blood-stained mane,

Threw her head back,

And roared into the night sky,

the lone lioness of the jungle,

would come back for everything.

                           --Ananya Murali