In good times,
it is possible for a lion
to purr.
(If you have not seen this,
you will not believe me.)
Your lion wants to keep you safe.
Because of this,
occasionally,
when you are safe
and your lion sees this,
it will rub its cheeks against you
and purr, like the distant rumble
of thunder on the horizon.
Your lion loves you.
Your lion lives to make you proud.
Of course,
there are times when
you are perfectly safe
and all your lion wants to do is grumble—
a snarling pulse, flash-clawed adrenalin in your chest—
but that doesn’t make the purring
any softer
when it comes;
purring is just as valid whether it is
part of a continual stream,
or bookended by growling and complaints.
And lions, after all, are lions.
They will do both depending on their whims.