SynthesisBANNED POST
T he scene is now. Androcles,
discovered dead, is sitting at a table
sipping tea. He seems composed, not ill
at ease. Onto a perfect off-white rug
one finger bleeds.
A man comes in from off the street,
his throat torn out. The lion’s breath
still in his mouth, the smell of blood
and breakfast heavy on his hands
he sits and pours himself a cup –
he takes command..
The lion’s dead, he says: and in a book
with places marked by rubber bands,
he writes the lion’s weight and age,
then jots the fable down in half a dozen lines—
Sign this release, he says, and you will find
in time that God will waive the fines.'
And with the thorn in his dead hand
Androcles signs.
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