Lady Liuwa

A wonderful pristine wilderness
In Zambia’s far west
The Liuwa Plain National Park
Where existence and the rest
Come together feral souls
The environment to test

Five years after the Angolan War
With poachers everywhere
Trophy hunters followed
Heightening despair
Wiping out the iconic Lions
Really all but one
A lionness known as Lady
Who somehow dodged the gun

Who became a kind of phantom
With her own identity
Having to live a lonely life
Of unconventionality
A maverick in many ways
A gypsy around town
Unconventional hunting
And ofcourse what she put down

Was constantly under attack
From hyenas who would come
To hope to steal whatever
Or at least get some
Too many Lions had glass eyes
And stared down from a wall
Trophies in some foreign land
Part of a hunters haul

Whatever fate mow held in store
Lady felt that she
Was big enough and fit enough
And was, destined to be
Able in this place to cope
Despite her lonely state
Despite her vulnerability
Still she did feel great

Lions tend to hunt together
So a solitary Soul
will find things much more difficult
To exercise control
Stalking in plain sight
Needs cover, and after a kill
Protecting what you have caught of course
Is more, difficult still

Take the spotted Hyena’s
They come around in packs
Boisterous and violent
How can one relax
It can be an easy steal
The rumpus that they cause
And when they are aggressive
Even a lion must pause

Herbert Bruer photographer
An Unassuming man
With a gentle aura
And a very sensitive plan
Of action following hyena’s
But Lady Liuwa too
Perceptive to his aesthetics
And his gentle view

She being very lonely
Picked up on his flair
Felt his true mentality
And just wanted to share
In his cerebration
Perhaps his reverie
Absorbed by his musings
And his mystery

She would come and express herself
By rolling gently by
His vehicle and he would film her
Each exchange an eye
Dhe came into their camp at night
And lay down by his tent
He never ever fed her
Its just she seemed content

To be there, in his company
A wild soul and a man
Despite the tempered memories
She had found a fan
He would hear her purring
And she might hear his snore
A wild soul and a human
A fact one can’t ignore

African Parks were thinking
To translocate to see
If they could find a healthy male
For her and let her be
A mother let her just be true
But, the male they found
Choked coming out of sedation
And died upon the ground

After his cremation
Several months went by
When they found two virile brothers
And brought them back to try
Put them in a boma and lady did come by
To investigate the new lions
And together they did lie

Their chemistry seemed positive
They mated as we know
But lady was infertile
Which clearly was a blow
But they remained good friends we hear
And lady knew her worth
But sadly in the course of time
She never gave birth

She died the day before LION day
The ninth of August just this year
A truly beautiful Warrioress
A suvivor and a tear
Will no doubt fall down many a cheek
Anyone who came
To know This lovely animal
LADY LIUWA by name.