ALLEGORICAL: "CAGED LIONS" BY BISHOP SAHR ISAAC PETERSON
We say we're lions roaring.
Mountains have denied the lions.
Park now eats the leaders.
Elders trade proverbs for bread.
Smoke writes stories on darkness.
Caged lions wear office ties.
Deadlines gleam like silk chains.
Zebra is now our enemy.
Rhino greets with faked heads.
King roars, “Whisper, it’s policy.”
Wind forgets its own name.
Caged lions sit on thrones.
Autocratic paws sign silent laws.
Serpent secures saddleback in rogues.
Schools parade empty uniformed children.
Teachers plant seeds on concrete.
Chalk whispers, then shatters quietly.
Caged lions promise honey months.
White collars dusted with waiting.
Salary ghosts haunt corridor walls.
Rent laughs with landlord mouths.
Ambition drinks borrowed bitter tea.
Discipline counts visible hungry ribs.
Caged lions share dens sheep.
Sheep teach lions polite bleating.
Sweet sorrow sits at table.
Loud silence sweeps dusty floors.
Tribes build mirrors, not bridges.
Shadows point at own faces.
Caged lions dance in shackles.
Red tape binds dancing ankles.
Culture sings to empty stomachs.
Penury tailors hope with holes.
Bondage sells cage tickets twice.
Thunder trapped inside matchboxes roars.
Caged lions open iron gates.
Minds remain locked behind desks.
Diplomas fall like leafless trees.
Letters say, “Be patient again.”
Patience ages inside long queues.
Hyenas record minutes for kings.
Caged lions count delayed promises.
Autocratic claws silence dissenting voices.
River borders multiply overnight maps.
One plate feeds many quarrels.
Roars are measured by policy.
Fear practices walking on tiptoes.
Caged lions trade truth fables.
Tortoise cheats, children memorize morals.
Knowledge bows to palace whispers.
Blackboard echoes like hungry drums.
Seeds refuse growing in concrete.
Hope limps, but refuses dying.
Caged lions remember ancient rain.
Cracked mortar holds stubborn seeds.
Whispered roars practice breaking cages.
Tribal ink will blur soon.
Freedom learns the den’s shape.
Unchained lions exit broken fables.
© Bishop Sahr Isaac Peterson
- Sierra Leone
Coalition of Public Speakers & Modern Writers, CoPsMoW--SL
Pan-Africanist
Caged Lions is a powerful political and social protest poem that portrays a society where people with great strength and potential are trapped by oppression, corruption, poverty, tribalism, bureaucracy, and poor leadership. Through the recurring symbol of "caged lions," the poet illustrates how citizens who should be courageous and influential have been silenced and restrained by unjust systems.
The poem exposes the failures of political leaders, the decline of education, economic hardship, delayed opportunities, and the culture of fear that discourages people from speaking against injustice. It also condemns empty political promises, authoritarian rule, and the divisions that weaken society.
Despite its bleak portrayal, the poem ends on a hopeful note. The final stanza suggests that freedom is possible as people gradually rediscover their voices, overcome fear, and unite to break the figurative cages that have confined them. Ultimately, the poem is a call for awakening, resilience, and collective action toward justice, dignity, and genuine liberation.
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