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THE LIONESS IS LOOSE
by Lucas Austin Powers
copyright © 2001
Ludlow Press Poetry
The Lioness is Loose
The lioness is loose tonight
somewhere in the savannahs
of middle Tennessee--
She roams the hedgerows,
stalks the ranch-homes
of deepest suburbia.
Her flourescent eyes flicker
thru tangles of forsythia
swaying innocently.
She has never been free before--
her home the concrete kennel
of a roadside attraction.
And that makes her a danger
to children and to pets
and stranded motorists.
The TV anchors chatter on about
the threat and provide updates
on the half-hour
as Animal Control patrols the fairways
culverts, cul-de-sacs--even the dumpster
behind the Dipsy-Doodle.
But for now the lionness is loose--
the kids stand tip-toed, peering
out second story windows,
the dog is grateful to be indoors,
and the cat pads silently across
the kitchen floor.
Lucas
Austin Powers teaches English and Folklore at Tennessee State
University, an historically black college in Nashville, TN. Lucas
has published poetry in a number of magazines including The Vanderbilt
Review, Trans: A Journal of Spiritual Discovery, The Brownstone Quarterly and
Echoes. Married to Jackie O'Keefe, he has a daughter, Phoebe.
E-mail: lpowers@tnstate.edu
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