The Trouble With Elephants

is they never forget friends

no matter how old or odd or broken,

greeting them with tender trunks,

sub vocal songs of recognition,

memories and companionate joy.

The trouble with elephants

is they are nurtured in forests

of carefully stepping giants,

faithful beyond the grave to

life affirming kinship.

The trouble with elephants

is tolerance of humiliation,

patience with arduous tedium,

the cruelty of Edison’s public execution,

forgiven.

The trouble with elephants

is endurance of life in a stinking box,

the mahout’s prod and curses,

swaying, chained to a stump,

deprived of showers and mud baths.

The trouble with elephants

is they honor community,

use power to protect the weak,

and prize gentleness above strength

in the company of kind.

The trouble with elephants

is the size of their hearts.

Sybilla

May 14, 2012

Eye of the Elephant by Staci Stanton Edwards