Keep the pace Keep the pace Back and forth Back and forth If you stop you’ll feel the pain If you stop you’ll be afraid Pacing Pacing no way out Cage and Bars. Can’t get out Feel the hunger, hear the noise Slam! Kabaam! No choice No choice Frightened. Hungry. No way out Bang! Blast! Smoke. Shouts Lightening Blinding Never stops
Keep the pace, Keep the pace Back and forth, back and forth To the sink and to the stove Table set and dinner rolls To the school To the store Keep the pace Back and forth If you stop you’ll feel the pain If you stop you’ll be afraid Vacuum cleaning, back and forth Room to room, back and forth Kids have practice Can’t be late If you stop you’ll go insane Keep the pace keep the pace
Bang! Kaboom! Lightening blasts Zap! You’re down. No pain at last No more cage, no more bars Now it’s quiet. Lick the scars. Walk in circles. Look around. Is it safe? Is it sound? What to do? What to feel? Keep the pace. Can’t be real. Back and forth. Back and forth Keep the pace. Keep the pace
Wait. Stop. Settle Down Danger’s Over. Look Around Coast is clear. No peril here. Sniff and stare. Feel fresh air One foot out is all it takes One step out to leave this cage Scared. Uneasy. This is strange But one foot out is all it takes
Inspired by the story of Simba, a 4-year-old lion, one of the last two surviving animals at the Mosul Zoo, Iraq, and all of the people who helped.