Cecil the lion
Let’s have a moment’s
Silence for Cecil (Ses’-al),
But not yet.
During that silence
Let us think about why
Cecil’s life matters.
Was it because his trust was betrayed
And we felt a little responsible?
Or are we just so upset with what is happening
To the whole planet
In our name
That when something so patently disgusting
And immoral happens to an icon
Like Cecil,
We gladly wrap our minds around it,
Sign petitions, and inwardly set up a howling?
Getting mad when you know you are right
Is very cleansing.
So, in our moment’s silence
We can thank Cecil
For stirring our conscience.
It feels good to feel!
And before we get back to business as usual,
And during our moment of silence,
Let us think some more about
Why we’re so pissed
That such a perfectly handsome animal
Was murdered and decapitated.
What was the button
That Cecil’s murder pushed
That set off the alarm?
One thing is obvious,
We all like lions
(Even if they eat people once in a while).
We tolerate dentists.
But an out-of-control dentist
Is the stuff of a Stephen King tale.
But there is more to it.
(Hold off our moment of silence.)
Cecil was lured off the preserve,
Like our children are lured away from safety
By sex-traffickers,
Like we are lured away
From our own common sense
To fight wars,
To support hollow causes,
To exploit each other,
To mess with the environment,
To expedite calamity.
The fact that Cecil was innocently lured
From his safe haven of false-security
Hits a nerve in us.
We might mull over that
During our moment of silence.
And maybe we should be increasingly vigilant
In the future,
Because, not just dentists, but all men get desperate
When they think their manhood is slipping away!
They make war,
They shoot lions,
They ravage the environment,
They get shamelessly greedy,
They build and electrify walls
To keep others in or out,
They swear oaths of allegiance to demigods,
And billionaires,
They worship strong men!
They collect weapons.
And they use them.
Ah, Cecil,
We will miss what you represent to us.
And now, please,
That moment of silence. . .
—Gary Lindorff