August, Lions and Leos

The day of the lion, World Lion Day annually arrives on the tenth day of August, its purpose to raise awareness of the plight of the golden big cat of Africa, and threats to their existence: disappearing habitat, trophy hunters, and poachers.

Some unethical guides lure them out of protected areas so their rich client can get the largest trophy, destroying the gene pool, justifying their kills by saying the money they pay for hunting licenses goes to the communities – another shameless lie.

The noble lion is cruelly captive-bred and kept on lion farms in South Africa, valuable claws, bones, and trophy heads. Mistreated, fed little, they approach the fence, hoping for food, and become an easy trophy in canned lion hunting operations, the shooter in a car picking off the captive-bred lion.

Those adorable spotted cubs you pet at a roadside zoo, take a ‘lion walk’ with, or pose next to for a photo, often end up in canned hunting facilities once they've outgrown their handlers’ ability to control the feline predator.

My connection to lions is strong.

World Lion Day precedes the eleventh day of August, a date emblazoned on my psyche. The eleventh of August is Leo in astrology, a fire sign. The spectacular Perseid Meteor shower in many years peaks on the eleventh, and the day always falls within the window of the best viewing days.

** An annual birthday present from the cosmos **

On my birthday, right after World Lion Day, my shadow roams long in the morning, gripping my hand in the heat of the hottest month, pulling me toward its beaming fire, and in my teen years, on such hot August days in the Midwest summers, I silently slipped downstairs and hid in the coolest spot in the house, underground, in the basement. My family could find me on hot August days, cooling underground.

A Leo, ruled by the sun, I crave its glow and brilliance, disliking days of gloom, but its burning rays scorch and overheat me. My internal furnace blazes hot even on cool days. August anoints me in a golden, gleaming glow, a gala for a Leo child of the sun, the sign ruled by fire, lions, and the largest and hottest star of our solar system, Sol.

I feel autumn coming and anxiety swirls as I ponder short days and gray skies. I yearn to lengthen the days of heat, days of brilliant blue sky and warming sun rays, enjoying short spurts before sprinting to the shade. I want to keep the hot furnace of August longer than thirty-one days, and I notice the maple trees are already brightening to orange, preparing for chilled evenings and brisk daybreaks.

Copyright © 8/11/2025 by Andrea O. Corwin

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Here is an older poem for your enjoyment:

A/N - Mike's August challenge is here: