The lion, king of the jungle,

hunting in the wilderness,

creeping along in the grass,

silently as if it were a shadow.

Suddenly it stops.

Its eyes narrow.

Then it moves again.

Oh, so slowly.

Its tail twitches.

It creeps closer and closer to its prey.

Suddenly with a mighty roar, it leaps,

Pouncing on its struggling prize.

It tears the tender flesh of the creature.

Then as quick as it began, the struggle ends.

The lion eats, content, and relaxed

until it is time to hunt again.

Sarah was a little girl with a heart that felt everything deeply. Her sensitivity made the world around her both beautiful and overwhelming. Whether it was the stories she learned in school or the images she saw on TV, the emotions stirred within her like a storm.

But Sarah had a gift, a special way of channeling her thoughts and emotions. She found solace in putting her feelings onto paper, in the form of stories and poems. It was through writing that she could make sense of the turmoil and confusion inside her.

One day, as Sarah sat at her desk, a vivid image of a lion hunting in the wilderness filled her mind. She was unable to focus on the class lesson. She had watched a nature show the night before. She thought the lions were bullfighting, but when they killed the prey, she broke out in uncontrollable tears. Her mother had gotten very angry, saying she was ruining the program for everyone, and sent her to bed early.

The thoughts and images from the TV program would not leave her. Images danced in her head and she couldn’t shake them off. They seemed to capture the raw power and fierce nature of the king of the jungle. The classroom buzzed with activity as the teacher droned on about fractions and equations, but Sarah’s mind remained distant. She couldn’t escape the vivid images that had invaded her thoughts, triggered by the nature show she had watched the previous night.

As her classmates scribbled notes and flipped through textbooks, Sarah sat at her desk, her gaze unfocused, lost in the haunting scenes playing out in her mind. The beauty of the lions, their majestic presence in the wild, had captivated her. But the moment of the kill had shattered her fragile equilibrium, bringing forth a flood of uncontrollable tears. Remembering it she tried very hard not to cry in class. Shaking her head violently and getting a few snickers in response from fellow classmates who noticed her odd behavior. Luckily the teacher continued the lesson unaware.

Sarah’s emotions had overwhelmed her, the night before, and her mother’s reaction only added to her distress. She didn’t want to face the anger of the teacher if she lost control of her emotions in class. She had sought solace in the natural world, hoping to find a sense of wonder and awe, but instead, it had left her feeling vulnerable and deeply unsettled.

Throughout the day, Sarah struggled to regain her composure. The images danced in her head, refusing to be pushed aside. She felt a gnawing sense of guilt for witnessing the brutality of nature, and her heart ached for the prey that had met its untimely end. It was as if the pain and suffering of the world had seeped into her very being, overwhelming her sensitive soul.

When the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, Sarah gathered her belongings and made her way home. The weight of her emotions clung to her like a heavy cloak, making each step feel labored. She longed for a sense of release, a way to process the turmoil that consumed her.

As she entered her room, Sarah’s eyes fell upon her desk, adorned with a blank sheet of paper and a set of colored pens. The familiar sight provided a glimmer of hope. With a mix of determination and desperation, she sat down and picked up the pen.

In the quiet of her room, Sarah began to pour her jumbled thoughts onto the paper. The lion’s hunt, the prey’s struggle, and her own overwhelming emotions intertwined in her words. Through poetry, she sought to make sense of the chaos that plagued her mind.

Lines flowed from her pen, capturing the essence of her emotions. She described the beauty of the natural world, the delicate balance between life and death, and the profound impact it had on her sensitive spirit. With each word, she felt a small measure of release, as if she were transferring her burden onto the page. “The lion, king of the jungle,” she wrote, “hunting in the wilderness, creeping along in the grass, silently as if it were a shadow.”

As she continued to write, Sarah could feel the tension building in the story. The lion’s intense focus, the gradual approach, and the anticipation of the impending pounce were all captured in her words.

“Then with a mighty roar, it leaps, pouncing on its struggling prize. It tears the tender flesh of the creature. Then as quick as it began, the struggle ends.”

Sarah paused for a moment, her pencil hovering over the page. The scene she had written, while portraying the circle of life in nature, also reflected the harshness and violence that existed. It left her with mixed emotions, as she grappled with the beauty and cruelty intertwined in the world.

But Sarah didn’t stop there. With each stroke of her pencil, she allowed her emotions to flow freely. She wrote about her confusion, her desire for a world where kindness and compassion reigned, and her longing for harmony between humans and nature. She remembered what her friend David had advised about her poetry, to try different forms, some rhymed, some unrhymed and to change the meter. She decided to practice and write a second version of her first poem.

In the jungle, though the lion reigns, With power and might, it maintains, Its place atop the food chain, As it roams the wild terrain. Silently to stalk its prey, With each step, it gains its way, Through grass and underbrush it creeps, A shadow in the jungle deeps. Its eyes gleam savage intent, As it prepares to make its descent, Upon the creature, unaware, Of the lion’s deadly snare. With a mighty roar, it springs, Its powerful claws and fangs, Ripping through the flesh and bone, As it claims its prize alone. Sated and content, it rests, Its hunger finally put to rest, But it knows the hunt must go on, As the cycle of life in the wild continues on.

The tears that had threatened to consume her earlier now mingled with ink, staining the paper with raw authenticity. Through her writing, Sarah found a sense of clarity and catharsis. It was as if the thoughts and images that had haunted her mind had finally found their rightful place within her poetry.

As the final lines of her poems took shape, Sarah felt a deep sense of connection to her own vulnerability. She realized that her sensitivity, though sometimes overwhelming, was a gift that allowed her to experience the world in a unique way. Through her words, she could give voice to the silent struggles and hidden emotions that dwelled within her.

With a newfound sense of purpose, Sarah folded her poems and tucked them into her journal. Maybe she would share it with David later that week. She knew that her journey was far from over, that there would be more tears shed and more moments of emotional turmoil. But in her writing, she had found a refuge, a way to navigate the complexities of her sensitive soul.