Monday, January 13, 2020

Lion versus Bear




image from nationalgeographic.com


Lion versus Bear

Lions and tigers, and bears, oh my.”
--Dorothy from WIZARD OF OZ.

When the Romans
used to pit
a bear versus a lion
in an arena,
the roars were
deafening.


The bear would stand
10’ tall, and swat
the lion down
repeatedly.

With each swat
pounds of flesh
were torn off;
bears always
were victors.



Glenn Buttkus

Quadrille

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub

15 comments:

brudberg said...

Will there ever be a victor in a game like that... I assume that the emperor had a bear-stew made from the victor anyway.

De Jackson said...

LOVE the Oz quote, Glenn! This is so gruesome, especially with those roars coming from the most dangerous species of all - the humans.

AnotherFearlessYear.net said...

I love bears, but one cannot underestimate their power. I suppose when forced to defend oneself, if you can stand 10 feet high and swat from above, options are limited.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Wizard of Oz quotation made me smile....quadrille is from a different mood entirely. I actually found visiting those ancient arenas frightening.

Jade Li said...

Blatantly paraphrasing a quote from "Blade Runner", "The Romans were stupid and they died."

In the wild, lions hunt as a pack. I'm sure they've gnawed plenty of bear flesh in their day. At least while there are lions and bears left in the wild...

Linda Lee Lyberg said...

Wow- I can see where that would be the case. Gruesome but well told Glenn.

indybev said...


Oh that Dorothy! She led us right into a gory tale! Guess this is why the lion stays in the jungle and out of the arena. (Not bad advice, come to think of it).

Frank Hubeny said...

I didn't know the bear could beat the lion. Now I know which one to avoid the most although I would probably avoid both of them.

Gillena Cox said...

OMG and what about when men faced the beasts, so glad those days are passed
Happy Monday

Much✏love

Sabio Lantz said...

The Romans were such gems.

Truedessa said...

I am sure that was quite the battle. I think it would terrify me as they are both power animals. How could I route for either? I'd want to set them free.

Grace said...

What a gruesome spectacle that is.

Kim M. Russell said...

I love the way you always find a quote to fit your poem, Glenn, and this one is particularly apt. Your quadrille reminded me of a visit to the Colosseum in Rome, many years ago. We had a brilliant guide who was spectacularly bloodthirsty in his tale-telling. Thinking of the size of the place and the number of seats, not only the animals roared – the crowd would be deafening too!

qbit said...

Interesting that the bears were always the victors. Where did you find that out?

purplepeninportland.com said...

Oh my! Didn't guess a bear would be victor over a lion.