First And Last Lion

The last lion leaves its mane and its great
cat face emerges without its majestic
halo of hair

He is also the first
the first lion to enter the thicket of banyan trees
seeking his sustenance in the interstices between
shadows

He rolls in the first and last sunlight like a
rainbow coiled around a hole
shedding radiant rings

Earths sumptuous with rich vegetation flow though his
form from void formlessness on his dark side
to the delicate shapes of beauty nutritious on
this side our side the

side from which we witness him in leonine
comprehension

Give him fire and he’ll stride right through

Give him utter darkness and his roar will pierce
the silence like a clock

Many elephants fit inside him such is his girth
many earths fit inside his elegance in free-floating
space

He’s left the mane of his halo like a galaxy in its
particular nimbus suspended in motion in space

But if you encounter him say hello and
invite him for tea

Inner flowering is never far from his beauty

His span is eternity

1/26/2005