Whisper of Elephants (day 3137)

And the whisper of tides keep rolling
That makes the engine hardly slowing
In a growing pain of knowing
For all elephants have gone blind.

In an innocent game she was glowing
Until a judge became the one blowing
Lost in depths of spiraling
The end was all she could find.

Then all at once there came a calling
An old standard with sweet beckoning
With wallets that were fattening
Only hygiene long left behind.

So the two and their sweet romancing
Called the pastor who came running
He knew what was then demanding
No opposition of any kind.

And like buskers at the happening
They all packed up and left no remembering
A lot like old elephants fattening
No story left on each their mind.

Zemphier the XI (day 2069)

Many moons ago
This wild Serengeti
We now look out upon
Was much different
Then what we see here today
Even our own herd
Was much different
I remember when I was young
I had seven houndred and forty five
Uncles and Aunts
Six houndred and thirty
Brothers, sisters, and cousins
But now
Our herd is thirty five strong
I have seen that day
With my own two eyes
Do you think these tusks of mine
Have not seen a long life?
Do my trunk hairs lie?
Many moons ago
When we would walk to our watering hole
There would be birds as far
As my still young eyes could see
Beside our great herd
There would be antelopes
Water buffalo
Wildebeests
Hippopotamuses!
Zebras and the pink flamingos!
And the rhinoceroses!
I loved watching the rhinoceroses
Slowly go back and forth
Between their mud hole
And the water
I remember I would always ask my mother
If they were also our brothers
I have always thought they look
A little bit like us elephants.

Still Life in the Window (day 1970)

Raindrops set the mood
On an open Thursday night,
Songs reverberated callusedly
Against a faint rattle
Hardly heard under the crash
Of elephant hoof raindrops
Where the marksman’s twang
Nearly captured,
Patiently awaiting amidst a
Two pane dust memory
With a perfect view
Of empty hopes;
A thin cobblestone path
Weaves its way
Amidst falling whitewashed fencepoats
And tufts of sheep fodder
With eager gumboots
Avoiding eye contact
With our token warrior
Next to a thimble and needle
And a postcard received yesterday.

Practicing Wizardry (day 1569)

Wizards are taking turns cracking whips at higher shelves,
A lost umbrella serves as a dusty stepping stone.

When did he ever know his heartache?
A landslide, at the base looking up standing tall.

Can the old boys help anybody now,
Since there’s a guardian knocking all them down?

There’s a wild side whenever anybody’s holding on,
Take a look now, tomorrow’s rhythm of any song.

Inner ambition’s little sister came to say hi amongst terrible rubble.
She cried big elephant tears until socks upon giants grew ears.

Dusty sorts, way up there, but important bits reside beyond the whip,
Enough so, that a lazy angel has taken it to be her resting place.

Leather bound and locked without a lock.
Page four houndred and seventy three.

Shandi Fulumbatti the IV (day 677)

Papa, how come my trunk is so long?
Papa, why do giraffes have longer necks than us?
Papa, do I really weigh one tonne?
Papa, will you teach me how to spray my back with water?
Papa, where are my stripes?
Papa, can we really swim without flippers?
Papa, do you like grass or shrubs better?
Papa, will my ears grow bigger?
Papa, don’t let them take my tusks away.

anElephant

Shandi can be purchased here.