THE HUNT FOR A RULER

Once upon a time
In a kingless jungle
Animals were encouraged to compete
…to shape the sphere with the presence of a leader
Chameleon
…the one animal which could mirror the whole jungle
Insisted on not competing
Because it feared an aggression which could end its life
Lion
Tigeress
Elephant
Goat
Eagle
Sheep
Hen
Decided to compete

II
Many animals were of the view that
Lion and Tigeress were too aggressive
Elephant’s size was too intimidating
Goat was too stubborn
Eagle was too much of a traveler
Sheep was timid and foolish
…and Hen was too talkative
But each favoured one or the other
…for reasons best known to them

III
On the day of choosing
Many animals went near a river
To draw lines to choose their leader
Lion represented itself with a little portion of its mane
Tigress, one of its claw
Elephant looked for the tusk of its deceased family
…to represent it
Goat, always proud of chewing the cud
…represented itself with a jaw from its murdered father
Eagle used its feathers
Sheep cut a portion of its skin
…and was spotted with a sore
As Hen got a beak to represent it
Each animal was allowed to go solo
…to draw their votes

IV
Few days after the voting
Tortoise
…who was deputy to the head of elections
Was sent to deliver the results
…alongside its second deputy, snail
Every crawl intensified the heartbeats of the aspirants
Still, speed was a need they were never fed
So sheep died from heart attack
Tigress fled in anxiety
Eagle flew off in impatience
Hen scurried off to hide in fear
Lion
Elephant
…and Goat remained
The former and latter, happy that nature could hide their sweat
As Elephant’s thick pores rained rivers of sweats

V
Just when Tortoise was about announcing
…the results
Supporters of Eagle and Hen
…flew high
…defecating on the officials and the others
The commotion forced Snail
…to hide beneath Tortoise
As Goat used its horns to push off others in a flight for its safety
Elephant and Lion used their loud voices
…to calm the crowd
Lion roaring to scare
…saying boldly it would tear all of them apart
…if they acted deviants
Elephant loudly trumpeted
…promising to destroy the land
…with just a jump
Though the strong birds called their bluff
…others calmed
Yet in a lesser jungle
…calm and peace took over their selection
It dawned on Chameleon
That perhaps
…the loudest animal will always be chosen as the head
…because their voices are guns
…which can deafen to stiffen
And are attractions
…which can harm to charm
That ended the tell tale
…of the hunt for a ruler
…so told by Chameleon the Observer
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © December 8, 2020