Photo by Amadeus Moga on Unsplash

Lion’s Gaze

The stick goes skittering across the gravel.
The lion and I watch. When I look back at the lion,
the lion is again watching me.
It crouches and steps, it’s shoulders
rolling, closing the distance between us.
I think of the ridgeback hound
who once chased the stick.
I bite my teeth but
my teeth do not bite back.
The lion will not even try
to bite his own teeth.
Unlike myself,
the lion will not be distracted
by what cannot hold his
attention.