This poem requires audience participation.
Whenever I point to you, please say “Hunger, Hunger,” as in the gnawing feeling of emptiness in your stomach, in unison.
And when I start to tap my chest like a heartbeat, tap that heartbeat with me. Continue after I stop.
You’ll stop when I make the motion of pulling something toward me, like this.
Test each cue twice more before beginning.
Dancing Fire, Lion’s Might
(Hunger, Hunger)
Is all the boy can think about as he looks with
(Hunger, Hunger)
At the gazelle wandering through the windswept grass with
(Hunger, Hunger)
Searching for its own meal, not seeing the boy, whose
(Hunger, Hunger)
Is apparent in his eyes, his pupils grown wide with
(Hunger, Hunger)
He readies his spear; his fist and stomach clench as
(Hunger, Hunger)
Stiffens all his muscles; he bends at the knees for
(Hunger, Hunger)
And he counts to himself, swallowing hard with
SLASH.
Dancing fire, lion’s might
Roar with the terror of a thousand nights
When the red dawn comes, only one will be alive,
But is he still living if he's lost his mind?
(Hunger, Hunger)
The lion beats the boy to the gazelle with
(Hunger, Hunger)
Bloody teeth bared, curling in his claws with
(Hunger, Hunger)
Tearing into the neck of his prey with
(Hunger, Hunger)
And the boy falls back, his
(Hunger, Hunger)
Replaced by surprise but
(Hunger, Hunger)
Comes back with a vengeance the
(Hunger, Hunger)
In his stomach for weeks it’s been
(Hunger, Hunger)
Now the lion’s taken his kill thanks to
(Hunger, Hunger)
Taken the only way of stopping his
(Hunger, Hunger)
The boy knows he should run now, but
(Hunger, Hunger)
Has a way of filling the mind with
(Hunger, Hunger)
And there is only one way to feed his
THUD.
Dancing fire, lion’s might
Roar with the terror of a thousand nights
When the red dawn comes, only one will be alive,
But is he still living if he's lost his mind?
(Hunger, Hunger)
The spear pierces the lion’s thigh, aimed by
(Hunger, Hunger)
The lion’s breath lost in a sigh, as
(Hunger, Hunger)
Drives the boy forward, ready to die for his
(Hunger, Hunger)
But to the lion, pain is a lie. There's just
(Hunger, Hunger)
For this cub that dares threaten his meal, just
(Hunger, Hunger)
Is all a lion dares to feel because
(Hunger, Hunger)
Means more strength to steal, so
(Hunger, Hunger)
Holds the world at a lion's heel.
Thought blurs to instinct. (Begin heartbeat)
Man becomes beast and beast becomes man.
That same primal war wherein the whole world began.
As before and as after, it's strength against smart.
One arm strikes faster, (Bring arm out) and it claws out the heart. (Stop heartbeat)
In the morning, it is silent besides the pounding in his head.
The gods favor the violent; the lion is dead.