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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.
This poem is in the public domain.
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John Ciardi (1916 - 1986) was an American etymologist, poet, and translater. Born in Boston to Italian parents, he grew up in Massachusetts. After college, John served three years in the Air Force, then embarked on a career which involved teaching lecturing, and writing poetry--for children, as well as for adults. Working as a professor first at Kansas State University, then at Harvard, Rutgers and the University of Florida, he was also director of the Breadloaf Writers Conference at Middlebury College in Vermont. John's most significant achievements during his lifetime included translating several of Dante's works into English, writing a textbook, How Does a Poem Mean, hosting a weekly segment on NPR, and serving as poetry editor of the Saturday Review.
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