The Secret
They looked down upon us with their sneers and their leers,
And bright yellow eyes keen on bringing demise.
They crowd behind him in dark savage hoards,
Awaiting their bloody well-earned rewards.
Their fur was ragged; thin and grey,
Shunned by the light of a warm summer's day.
For the sun does not shine in their secluded caves,
Where he cunningly gathers his army of slaves.
Their loyalty bought with flesh for dinner,
If they choose to walk the path of a sinner.
For creatures with hearts darker than coal,
This is easily done, to reap from a queen
Both husband and son.
Although they are neither clever nor witty,
I hoped that at least they would show her some pity.
Of all this none was more wicked than his smug haughty grin,
Knowing from this sorrow he had so much to win.
A lofty throne on the ladder of power,
As long as he brought them their meat to devour.
And so it begun that one mournful day,
When my thoughts were no longer of joy nor of play.
There was work to be done,
There was no time for laughter,
There was no time for fun.
We hunted all day and we hunted all night,
Until she decides, today we shall fight!
But hearts filled with sorrow, consumed by despair,
We could do nothing but watch our pridelands grow bare.
The queen could stand it no longer, she could wait no more,
She gave him our message, expressed our deplore.
With an austere expression,
He made no concession.
And so by his words we with no choice abided,
But as for our hate, we just could not hide it.
I see from my den, the sky cold and gray,
Some days I fear this is how it shall stay.
We all don't remember
what was, what could be.
There is no one to lead us,
There is no one but he.
For as long as I knew him, he was bitter and cruel,
No one was pleased with his long spanning rule.
Forgetting today, I dream of tomorrow,
Burying myself in my grief and sorrow.
I wake up next morning and to my surprise,
He sits there beside me with his sleek back mane and sapphire eyes.
What could he want? I can't help but wonder,
Better to ask instead of just ponder.
He confesses a secret so dark and confounding,
The shock sends my heart unnervingly pounding.
I truthfully promise that I shall not tell,
For if they don't know then all is quite well.
Yet the words ring in my thoughts like an iron cast bell,
Until I burn with them in the dark pit of hell.