The lions who ate the Christians on the sands of the arena br By indulging native appetites played was now been seen a br Not entirely negligible part br In consolidating at the very start br The position of the Early Christian Church. br Initiatory rights are always bloody br In the lions, it appears br From contemporary art, made a study br Of dyeing Coliseum sands a ruddy br Liturgically sacrificial hue br And if the Christians felt a little blue- br Will people being eaten often do. br Theirs was the death, and there's was a crown undying, br A state of things which must be satisfying. br My point which up to this has been obscured br Is that it was the lions who procured br By chewing up blood gristle flesh and bone br The martyrdoms on which the church has grown. br I only write this poem because I thought it rather looked br As if the part the lions played was being overlooked. br By lions' jaws great benefits and blessings were begotten br And so our debt to Lionhood must never be forgotten.