“Marjan” the last lion

A precious stone they called him
A gift from Cologne Zoo
To Kabul Zoo on Kabul river
When he was just two
That was in 1976
It was a thriving place
But was dangerous and very threatening
And wars moved on at a pace
The soviets came
And in 1992 a civil war
Raged throughout the country
Killings like never before

The animals were neglected
The zoo a battlefield
Bombs and bullets were flying
Time alone revealed
How The animals bore the brunt of it
One keeper managed he
begged and borrowed and did his best
To feed them and to see

“Marjan” and his lioness “Chu cha”
Existed just about
But they were clearly starving
And all around the rout
Of Kabul was really vicious
They were abandoned’ and
Left to their own resources
Whilst the flames of war were fanned

The illogicalness of wartime
Saw a soldier for a bet
Come into the lion enclosure
And “CHu cha”he did pet
She apparently allowed him too
But “Marjan” leapt and killed
The man’ they both were starving
In male Lions its instilled
To protect and thus he did that
And the man was mauled and died
The next day his brother threw some grenades
And With no where to hide
“Marjan” took the full force
The blast blinded him and he
Was deafened and lost half his teeth
And withstood the agony

His courage and commitment
To the task in hand
Was really quite remarkable
Its hard to understand
Without sufficient food
Just scraps that people brought
He really was a brave heart
And continually he fought

Off the general weakness
He the protector who
Managed to live for another 7 years
But what did karma do
Within a week of the grenade attack
That man was attacked and killed
So “Marjan” with his spirit
Really he fulfilled

All he could and in 2001
When the the Americans arrived
He was taken to the veterinary
And he had survived
It all, the fear and hopelessness
And the injuries as well
As the heaven he had come to
Became a place where hell

Had really taken over
Warring everywhere
Shells and bombs and rockets
How could that be fair
We take these beautiful animals
Wild created they
Suffer in our prisons forever
And a day
Zoos are always businesses
and the animals go down hill
Neglect and coming to terms
With it really that is still

What happens to zoo animals
For them captivity
Goes against creation
And how it was mean’t to be
“Marjan” has become a symbol
Of the savagery of man
Of how he fought for his freedom
Which was always his plan

The zoo is once again a zoo
And in the entrance there
A beautiful memorial
“Marjan” does now share
The ground where he lies buried
Since 2002
A symbol of Kabul’s survival
A Brave soul good and true

What have we learned though
From all of this
Where we ought to be
Is sharing this world
With the animal tribes
And preventing captivity
Habitats lost
Consigns wild souls
To the horror that we inflict
They become pawns on our chessboards
Each one a convict

“Marjan” stood for something
His life his death his pain
Around the world so many zoo’s
But duplicity again
Is stretched throughout emotions
Our corruptibility
We imagine we know better
When in reality

We take the land they were given
Creation made it so
We disrespect our mother
She truthfully does know
The balance of the biosphere
Her candour and her troth
Is clearly always heartfelt
And aware and she has both

“Marjan” was a guru
A teacher and a sage
But to this day even in Kabul
They continue off the page
They miss the point completely
In what is the financial world
Where angels very reluctantly
Still to this day are hurled