And my story waits like a restful beast

I've come to think Lawrence Hill's favorite animal may well be a lion. He makes multiple comparisons to the beast in his novel The Book of Negroes, at least. He describe the mountains of the African coast as an enormous powerful lion (page 63), and often refers to the belly of the slave ship as a lion's anus. On page 116, Aminata says, "But I have long loved the written word, and have come to see it in the power of a sleeping lion. This is my name. This is who I am. This is how I got here. In the absence of an audience, I will write down my story so that it waits a restful beast with lungs breathing and heart beating." This piece of text reminded me of a Charles Spurgeon quote: "The Word of God is like a lion. You don't have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself." In the same way, Aminata's story is powerful. It is so powerful it doesn't need to be read aloud to move mountains. However, as soon as someone begins to turn the pages, the beast awakens. It pounces, and scratches at your heart. Unlike the paper it is written on, Aminata's story is alive. It is a resting beast.