Why Nobody Pets the Lion at the Zoo

The morning that the world began

The Lion growled a growl at Man.

And I suspect the Lion might

(If he’d been closer) have tried a bite.

I think that’s as it ought to be

And not as it was taught to me.

I think the Lion has a right

To growl a growl and bite a bite.

And if the Lion bothered Adam,

He should have growled right back at ’im.

The way to treat a Lion right

Is growl for growl and bite for bite.

True, the Lion is better fit

For biting than for being bit.

But if you look him in the eye

You’ll find the Lion’s rather shy.

He really wants someone to pet him.

The trouble is: his teeth won’t let him.

He has a heart of gold beneath

But the Lion just can’t trust his teeth.

Copyright Credit: John Ciardi, "Why Nobody Pets the Lion in the Zoo" from The Reason for the Pelican (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1959). Used by permission of the Ciardi Family Publishing Trust.

Source: The Reason for the Pelican (Lippincott, 1955)