|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE LION'S SKELETON, by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER Poet's Biography
First Line: How long, o lion, hast thou fleshless lain?
Last Line: Have sifted out the substance of thy feet.
Subject(s): Animals; Decay; Lions; Skeletons; Rot; Decadence
First Line: How long, o lion, hast thou fleshless lain?
Last Line: Have sifted out the substance of thy feet.
Subject(s): Animals; Decay; Lions; Skeletons; Rot; Decadence
How long, O lion, hast thou fleshless lain?
What rapt thy fierce and thirsty eyes away?
First came the vulture; worms, heat, wind, and rain
Ensued, and ardors of the tropic day.
I know not -- if they spared it thee -- how long
The canker sate within thy monstrous mane,
Till it fell piecemeal, and bestrewed the plain;
Or, shredded by the storming sands, was flung
Again to earth; but now thine ample front,
Whereon the great frowns gathered, is laid bare;
The thunders of thy throat, which erst were wont
To scare the desert, are no longer there;
Thy claws remain, but worms, wind, rain, and heat
Have sifted out the substance of thy feet.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
PUT BACK THE DARK by MARVIN BELL
PUTREFACTION by CHARLES BUKOWSKI
WHAT COULD HAPPEN by DORIANNE LAUX
SURFACE AND STRUCTURE: BONAVENTURE HOTEL, LOS ANGELES by KAREN SWENSON
SEVEN ODES TO SEVEN NATURAL PROCESSES: ODE TO ROT by JOHN UPDIKE
HER FIRST-BORN by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER