//-------------------------------------------------------// The Sphinx King -by Golden Fang Ryutora- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// The Sphinx King //-------------------------------------------------------// Author's Note This poem was inspired by the 1994 Movie Lion King The Sphinx King There once was a sphinx prince as golden than the sun With preciousness equivalent to that of a bun Able to give the brightest of smiles Ones that could light a whole road for miles He lived in a land that was grand and lush Enough to make any lower ranking sphinx blush With a strong merciful, and caring father And a kind, caring, and regal mother Each day for the prince one of absolute bliss Days that any sphinx would surely miss With plenty of friends to make it more fun Making each adventure seem like a never-ending run It was the best life the sphinx prince ever had Every day he got to lived, he grew more glad Unaware of the darkness looming overhead Darkness that would fill his pride unrelenting dread In the royal pride, the king had a brother A sphinx that he did his very best not to smother With a hear that was blacker than the fur of a skunk Making him seem like an unapproachable punk He hated the prince with expertly hidden spite Spite that went higher than a rising kite Seeing the prince as nothing more than a stain One that kept him from getting what he wanted to obtain And so, he devised an articulate plan A scheme that would disgust even the most cold-hearted man To get rid of the prince once and for all And hopefully watch his beloved brother fall He first sent the cub to an unknown land A land inhabited by those who were banned To have the young prince meet an early grave By the uncle’s allies who lived in a cave But to his dismay, his dear brother came Heart afire and claws aflame He fought of the devils that were after his son Sending the merciless attackers on the run Before taking the prince back to the pride Were plenty of tears of joy were cried Undeterred, the brother with his plot Wasting no time doing so right on the dot Coming up with an even more sickening scheme Something to make any soft-hearted sphinx scream He took the sphinx cub for a fun day out Letting the prince make a constant spout Blissfully unaware of the trap that was made One the uncle would make sure was paid With the trap set, the uncle set the plan in motion Leading his allies as if controlling them with a potion Watching as the canines went on the attack Chasing the herbivores set up for the pack Down to bury the prince straight in the sack Plan in motion, the brother got the king Informing him of the event that made his heart sting And together, the brothers went down to the scene Watching the chaos as if it was on a screen Seeing his son in danger, the king flew into the herd Flying through the action with the grace of a bird Desperate to rescue his one and only child From the clutches of death that was the wild In less than a heartbeat, the injured king had the cub Holding him as if he was mere grub And took him out of the stampeding beasts Preventing his enemies from getting an early feast With the cub now safe, the king made the climb Knowing his life may end on a dime And met his dear brother at the top Making the king come to an instant stop Fearing for his life, the injured king pleaded Begging for the help he so desperately needed From the brother for who he held so much love That was as beautiful and sacred as a dove Sadly, for the king, the uncle was not swayed The hatred in his heart as big as raid Hatred that he used to grab the king Locking him in place as if in a boxing ring With smile, the brother threw home over the edge Making him lose his grip on the ledge Watching as the king as he tried to make a rise Only to fall to his inevitable demise Unbeknownst to the uncle, the prince was watching Holding an expression that was every bit as shocking Eyeing with horror as he watched his father fall Making the prince let out a heart-wrenching bawl One that could’ve been heard by all With all his strength, the prince made the trek Trying to stay strong despite being a wreck And came upon his father’s still form Looking as if he was killed by a storm As the prince wept, the uncle slowly came Wasting no time in shifting the blame Filling the princes head with detestable lies Even as the prince let out heart wrenching cries With the deed done, the uncle urged the prince off Not even giving him the chance to cough Advising him to never even think to return Least he faces a wrath worse than a stomach churn Overcome with grief, the prince complied Severing any bonds that were once tied Leaving behind his fallen dead father His body lying next to his monster of a brother A brother who would soon bring a new rule One that would as sick as it was cruel That same night, the brother went back to the pride Giving them the news with the force of a tide And watched as the pride broke down in tears Unaware of the incoming height of the fears As the pride wept, the uncle staked his claim One that would ensure the growth of his fame And marked himself as the new king Marking a new era that he would soon bring Far away, the orphaned prince walked Not even caring if he was being stalked Ignorant of the darkness taking place In the land his father once ruled with such grace On and on, he continued to wander Wondering if all of it was no more than a squander Before he was approached by carefree souls Ones that would fill his growing black holes And give him the strength to overcome his grief Whether it be everlasting or brief From then on, the prince lived under their care Raised in a land that was every bit as rare Slowly learning to overcome his sadness And fight off the slowly dying madness In no time at all, the prince was full grown In looks, in stature, and even muscle tone Regaining the brightness, he once had as a cub Bright enough to warm even the bitterest of bubs One fateful day he was met with by a sphinxess Looking like she was in great distress A sphinxess he quickly realized as his best friend One who believed he was long since dead The friend told the prince of the demise of his land And that it was no longer beautiful and grand Having been destroyed and stripped to the bone Filled with nothing but skeletons and stone She urged the prince to come back home Not knowing who else to turn to on her roam But the prince refused to listen to her pleas Treating his old home as if it was a disease Something that he saw no reason to appease That same night, the prince was met by a guest One he didn’t really think was the best Telling him of the mistake he was making And the chance that he was no doubt wasting That he had to take responsibility And make his chance into a possibility Even with these words, the prince was undeterred Having had enough of what he had heard Wanting to just be left in his home No matter how much his guest seemed to moan In a last-ditch effort, the guest hatched a plan One that had him watching as the prince ran To see the one the shaman said was alive The one that the prince saw take a tragic dive In that moment, he saw the deceased king Looking as beautiful as a wedding ring Telling him of the decision he had to make To reclaim the lost kingdom his brother wanted take The veil then lifted form the prince’s eyes Making something in his heart begin to rise Taking over and igniting a fire One that no one could ever make tire With his renewed purpose, the prince finally set off The shaman watching him with a playful scoff As the prince made his long hard journey Soon to make an unforgettable discovery At last, the prince returned to his pride With his friends and future mate along for the ride Overcome with horror at what happened to his home And anger at the one who turned into his personal dome With fire in his heart, the prince confronted the tyrant king Filled with vengeance that he wanted to bring And make him pay for all he had done And send his former uncle out on the run At first, the tyrant king tried to play it cool Thinking the prince would be easy to fool But the sly acting no longer worked Not giving the tyrant what he wanted forked In a last-ditch effort, the tyrant pulled a card One sounding as sick as it was hard Pinning the blame of his brother’s death on the prince Doing so in a way that made said sphinx wince As the pride questioned him, the tyrant made his move Sensing that he had destroyed the prince’s groove Slowly pushing him towards the edge Where his deceased brother once used to pledge At deaths’ door, the tyrant made a confession A secret that once gave the prince grave depression That he was the one who had committed the crime Saying so with a tone as slick as slime At the last moment, the prince went on the offensive Making the tyrant go on the defensive Being forced to repeat what he had said Least the prince decided to take off his head With the confession made, the pride went on the attack Intent on making the tyrant into their personal rack But the tyrant’s allies held them back Meeting their blows with a powerful smack As the two sides fought, the prince went to do his deed Something he knew the pride would desperately need In order to set them all truly free After a brief chance the prince cornered his foe Who did his best to look like an doe In a desperate attempt to be shown leniency And be let off for all of his deviancy Somehow, someway, his efforts seemed to work Seeing the prince had a particular quirk One that the prince shared with his father Something the tyrant always saw as a bother At the last second, the tyrant performed his assault One that the prince put to an abrupt halt And so, the two sphinxes duked it out Their claws and teeth overriding each shout With each attack, their roars grew louder Growing loud enough to reach a whole tower Even as their blood began to splatter and fly So much so that it seemed both might die Finally, the tyrant gave a fatal strike Sharper than the tip of any sharpened spike Before quickly moving in for the kill The darkness in his heart powering his will But luckily, prince was one step ahead Delivering a blow showing nothing but red Disarming the tyrant and making him fumble As if he was a mountain about to crumble With the last of his strength, the prince finished his foe Throwing him into the flames that continued to grow And he watched as the tyrant slowly fell Along with his allies in the flames of hell With the deed done, the prince reunited with his pride All of whom looked upon him with pride And greeted them all and shared in their joy Something he missed since being a mere boy As the rain poured down form the cloud filled sky The prince felt his heart soar ever so high Happy that he had decided to return And the one who betrayed him would forever burn With renewed vigor, he went to his throne Something that seemed smaller now that he was grown And gave an explosive deafening roar One that went on a never-ending soar As the pride roared with him, they burst with rejoice Even as the rain made their fur moist Knowing that their nightmare had finally ended Presenting the chance for old relations to be mended And the pride knew that no matter what Regardless of any hurdle would have them stuck Or what kind of challenges the world would bring They finally had their rightful sphinx king