I opened The New York Times <br />the headline: <br />“Huge Conservation Effort Aims <br />to Save Vanishing Architect of the Savanna.” <br />First sentence: <br />“If elephants disappear other African species will follow too.” <br />Soon no wild elephants on the face of the earth. <br />1930—10 million <br />Today—650,000. <br />All because humans lusted for ivory. <br /> “Yes, ” I thought to myself, <br />“elephants are better than humans. <br />more noble, more peaceful, more wise. <br />One day all humanity shall be punished <br />for the killing of elephants.” <br />Grief seeped into my dizzy heart. <br />The train rattled on. <br />No good. <br />Leaping up I proclaimed, <br />“ELEPHANTS ARE BETTER THAN HUMANS. <br />MORE NOBLE, MORE PEACEFUL, MORE WISE.” <br />Stares, no applause. <br />“ONE DAY ALL HUMANITY <br />SHALL BE PUNISHED FOR THE KILLING OF ELEPHANTS.” <br />There it was. <br />Now everyone back to chatting, dozing, reading, <br />finished with watching <br />another mental case on the D train. <br />Then: <br />the memory of frozen winter afternoons <br />when I absorbed the steamy aromatic Elephant house <br />at the old Prospect Park Zoo, <br />at home there. <br />I didn’t want to cry, not now, <br />not in front of all these people. <br />so jumped up into, “WHAT NOW? ” <br />No response, <br />even from my own inner anguish. <br />Then: Parkside Avenue <br />lunging out <br />the vomit already <br />splashing on the filthy pavement.<br /><br />Charles Chaim Wax<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/shadows-beyond-the-bodies/
