Flat Out

The sun was mighty warm today! The lioness concurred... She found a pleasant rock to lay, A spot that she preferred... And then she sort of melted there... And with that rock was one, Such that she simply didn't care About that sizzling sun... Her heavy eyelids flickered still, Some consciousness to keep, As if a final act of will Before she slipped to sleep... Her breathing in and breathing out Were simply not the same And should there be a single doubt, She'd swear, the sun's to blame! Flat out, she was, her tail as well, Like one long stretch of string... As if the victim of a spell, She couldn't do a thing! The mighty huntress met her match! Flat out, for all to see... And there she stayed, some sleep to snatch, From noon till half-past-three... Denis Martindale, copyright, July 2012. The poem is based on the magnificent painting by Stephen Gayford called 'Flat Out'. More Stephen Gayford poems here: denis-martindale-dot-blogspot-dot-com