Beta

Sunlight beats down on the beta lion.

His shaggy mane emerges from the grass. 

Young, secondary, small,

always lesser, always last.

He claws the unrelenting earth 

and wishes he were not

burdened with a chaos

that he doesn’t understand.

Always following others’ trails,

he gnaws their abandoned toys

as though by chewing what they have chewed

he might soak up their scent

and trick the others into believing

that he is alpha too.

Little cub, little boy,

little no more.

Dominance, power, strength:

his thirst cannot be quenched. 

He learns from the pack.

He learns to fight.

He learns to growl. 

He learns to mate.

The females must submit.

Only then can he be alpha.