Lion and Serpent

Lion  and  Serpent  (in  Black)

A  20-th-Cent.  Interpretation

Lion apparently bitten by serpent

who makes lion crawl like a cat

heightening and curving its giant back

and howl like a wolf

Showing its feline fangs

to bottom of scene

counterattacking serpent

by same open mouth

Sculpture leaves us in midst of fight

when chances may seem equal

lion putting its foot upon snake

so it can't easily escape anymore

Antoine-Louis Barye freezes Impressionist moment

into a Symbolist image retaining animal Vitalism.

Xanadu (Ofrimbaudfame) for Blogspot.Com (April 2018)

(Thanks to Antoine-Louis Barye 1833 Lion au serpent bronze 

copper alloy in Louvre Paris)