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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE CAPTIVE LION by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES

Poet Analysis

First Line: THOU THAT IN FURY WITH THY KNOTTED TAIL
Last Line: UNBURIED TILL AN EARTHQUAKE DIGS HIS GRAVE.
Subject(s): ANIMALS; LIONS;

THOU that in fury with thy knotted tail
Hast made this iron floor thy beaten drum;
That now in silence walks thy little space --
Like a sea-captain -- careless what may come:

What power has brought your majesty to this,
Who gave those eyes their dull and sleepy look;
Who took their lightning out, and from thy throat
The thunder when the whole wide forest shook?

It was that man who went again, alone,
Into thy forest dark -- Lord, he was brave!
That man a fly has killed, whose bones are left
Unburied till an earthquake digs his grave.



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