Miles and miles from sure you drift,
in a long boat almost as blue as the sea.
Stranded, struggling, surviving (just)
with only a talking lion for company.
You sit, spear in hand at one end,
staring at the lion ever so carefully.
Think: ‘If I don’t throw the spear at him,
will he come crawling here and eat me?’
For even a civilized lion may find ferocity
when the talking lion becomes hungry.
The lion looks into your eyes and
grins sharp with his wide lion jaw.
Saying: “You seem sleepy. Rest a while.
I will paddle the boat with my paw.”
Do you dare to sleep, perchance to dream
and escape to a world safe on shore?
Or dare you not look away from the lion
and his ever so sharp lion’s claw?
Can you trust the lion and can
the languid lion trust you at all?
Days drift by and hunger hits hard
and you start imagining lion steak.
It’s there, so tender and juicy,
just waiting for you to take.
Do you throw the spear, strike it now
or would you be making a massive mistake?
To kill the last of the talking lions –
could you be such a sinister snake?
What if land was sighted then there tomorrow,
with moral dilemmas, raw regrets and cake?
Still, the sun is beating both of you
and the lion is starting to bake.
Will you throw the spear or stay your hand
and hope that you will soon come to land?
Copyright © 2015 Philip Craddock. All rights reserved.
Philip Craddock Writing Portfolio 
Perhaps fittingly, unsure whether to use “Miles and miles from sure” or “miles and miles from shore” in the first line and keep changing between them. “Sure” sounds like “shore” and carries the idea of a sea of uncertainty with it but there’s the danger that people may just believe it’s a typo, so running with “shore” might be a safer bet. Any suggestions?
Oh – and to those of you who threw the spear, better not miss. 😉
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